If you are hoping to purchase a home in New York City, you already know you’ll be spending a lot. But do you know exactly how much? Recently, the median home price in New York City climbed to $998,000, a 10% increase since last year. To break that number down, the average price per square foot has now climbed to $1,497.
It’s getting harder—and some would say impossible—to buy a home in Manhattan. The real estate market there is doing well, not surprisingly, says a report from Douglas Elliman. Prices are rising, and apartments are selling faster than ever, often with heated bidding wars, even over limited space.
Only half of properties that were purchased in the past three months were under a million dollars, compared to 78% in 2001, and properties sit on the market for an average of only 73 days, the lowest amount of time in 15 years.
And it isn’t just would-be homeowners who are being priced out of the area. In May, the average rent in New York City hit $3,380. Manhattan’s vacancy rate is only 1.65%, so not only are apartments very expensive, they can also be tricky just to find in the first place. In Brooklyn, rent sits at a hefty $2,933, and parts of Queens at $2,597.
The high costs of living in New York are creating a problem for the work force, because while the job market is growing, people still can’t afford to pay the rent. It hardly makes sense to spend over $3,000 a month on a property you don’t actually own, so places in Brooklyn and Queens are looking into becoming condos rather than rental properties.
Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel Real Estate Appraisers and Consultants, says, “Land prices have risen so much…the math doesn’t work for rental anymore.” And because there just isn’t very much housing available, landlords don’t have to offer incentives for new tenants. Demand is just too high—and it doesn’t look like it’s going to come down any time soon.