not-meant-suburbs-ad-12-07.jpgAre would-be Brooklynites flocking to the suburbs? The cover story in yesterday’s real estate section of the Times looks at how relatively cheap home prices in the suburbs are luring New Yorkers who find they can get way more bang for their buck in parts of Westchester, Connecticut and Jersey than in the city. While the article mostly focuses on the widening price gap between Manhattan and suburban properties, it notes that some people who would’ve bought in Brooklyn are also finding the suburbs cheaper:

Ludovic and Fabienne Ledein, who live and work as jewelry designers in Dumbo, visited nearly a dozen lofts in Dumbo, Red Hook and Williamsburg looking for something to buy for less than $600,000. They needed enough space to work at home and to put up friends and relatives from Europe. But what they wanted cost more than twice what they could afford…They found their answer in Westchester County, in New Rochelle. For about $600,000, they bought 1,350 square feet in the newly renovated Knickerbocker Lofts, a converted factory downtown that was built 117 years ago.

Any readers contemplating a similar move?
Cashing Out of New York City [NY Times]
Photo by uicukie.


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

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  1. The people profiled in the article were NYC owners not renters so the article is supposed to highlight so called arbitrage opportunities. If you think more critically about it though, upon selling in NYC you’ve paid taxes on your gain (gone forever) and given the likelihood of appreciation in NYC real estate over the next 10-20 years, your option to come back is pretty limited. Also, there’s the potential for short to long term illiquidity in areas suburban areas with oversupply of housing which may keep you there forever. Think about demographic trends in your lifetime. The boomers are selling from suburbia not buying. Also, if you can pay an estimated 15K a year in property taxes for the rest of your life you can certainly pay for private school tuition for two children, (OK cut some corners, through middle and high school) it kind of evens out. Also don’t forget gasoline for car(s), commuting and heating bills for the bigger house. Ultimately, it depends on where you want to live and what your desired lifestyle is. Treating this decision like a Wall Street play is faulty in my view.

  2. Yes 10:51 – But I bet you are not sending kids to pulic school in Bed-Stuy, are You?

    What would your annual bill be with 2 or 3 rug rats even going to a modest catholic school in the city – Heck of alot more than $13,000 I bet!

  3. As much as I hate to agree with 10:22, they are absolutely right! And I’m originally from LI. Nassau County. I currently own a 4 story, 3 family brownstone in Bed-Stuy and the tax difference is nothing to sneeze at. I currently pay $2,500 in prop. taxes. For the same sq/ft in Nassau County, my taxes would be $13,000. Not exactly chump change. Not to mention my ability to subsidize my mortgage with rent rolls from the 2 apartments, and still have two floors for our growing family.

  4. I get such a kick out of the main argument for the ‘burbs v. Brooklyn being their relative cheapness. What a turn-around from way back when I bought my house!

    I have a [very]distant relative [living on LI] who made money years ago by “block busting” in neighborhoods like mine. At one time he used to tease me about buying a house in Brooklyn. Now he asks increduously “how much is your house worth?”

    I love it!

  5. Well, for those who are not familiar with Westchester County, I am a recent transplant from there into Brooklyn, and I must say, I am happy about my decision!

    Taxes in West. Cty are nothiing to forget about. They are generally in the 5-digit figures, and can be more than most tax figures in Brooklyn.

    While I agree that you can (sometimes) get more bang for your buck in Westchester, you cannot beat the type of diversity, culture, and events that take place in the city – even Brooklyn. Now West. has events, and it is fairly easy to get into the city ( I lived very close to two Metro North Lines), but for single individuals, the city is the place to be, IMHO.

    Not to mention, you will need a car up there. Trying to get around on public trans alone up there is beyond believable: 30 min waits between buses, which dont run all night either. The Metro North last departs Grand Central around 1:30 a for most lines, so you are out of luck if you want to stay in the city later.

    Even the teenagers from Westchester come into the city!

  6. Property Taxes are high because you can actually send your kids to public school in LI. Factor in the cost of Private school and NYC income tax and then compare it to LI and you will see it can be very comparable.

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