Manhattan real estate

[scott1]

Tweety,

I'm an early 30s New Yorker with a baby boy living in a 2 bedroom on the Upper East Side.

I assume you are expecting a bonus in the low to mid 6 figures this year? If I were in your position I'd move to a less expensive UES 2 bedroom for a year. You can find a doorman 2 bedroom in the 4-5k range. It might be in the low 90s, or further east than you'd like, but they're out there. It probably won't have a gym. After your bonus start looking.

Prices are never going to go down on classic sixes but your bonus will out pace growth or real estate value in a year or two.

[NL__Fool]

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which, sadly, means we'll have to pay no less than $1.5 million, and probably more like $1.8 to $2.3 mil.


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My god, is that typical of the area or are you just buying a real expensive apartment? It sounds like it's typical.

If thats average, does the average job pay that much more, in the New York area compared to others?

My wife and I just moved from a small 1,500 square foot house about 15 years old With 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and a finished basement into a 1 year old fully detached 4 bedroom model house, about 2,800 squaer feet (including the finished basement) with a fenced yard, hardwood floors throught the entire house, master ensuite, seperate soaker tub & shower, hot tub, granite counters in the kitchen, cathedral ceilings, pillars throught the house tons of upgrades for $292,000 Canadian.

The house we moved out of cost us $151, 500 3 years ago, How do you people afford such absurd morgatge payments? Are you just filthy rich?

Anyways a common mistake people make is to over-extend themselves, they buy to much house and max themselves out.
Go for the smaller apartment

[emon87]

OK thanks for the input. NY still seems very expensive, but that's where the best firms are...

[Phone Booth]

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My god, is that typical of the area or are you just buying a real expensive apartment? It sounds like it's typical.

If thats average, does the average job pay that much more, in the New York area compared to others?

My wife and I just moved from a small 1,500 square foot house about 15 years old With 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and a finished basement into a 1 year old fully detached 4 bedroom model house, about 2,800 squaer feet (including the finished basement) with a fenced yard, hardwood floors throught the entire house, master ensuite, seperate soaker tub & shower, hot tub, granite counters in the kitchen, cathedral ceilings, pillars throught the house tons of upgrades for $292,000 Canadian.

The house we moved out of cost us $151, 500 3 years ago, How do you people afford such absurd morgatge payments? Are you just filthy rich?

Anyways a common mistake people make is to over-extend themselves, they buy to much house and max themselves out.
Go for the smaller apartment

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Two-million dollar apartments are, very, very nice, though most of them are not in the best possible locations. They would have to make at least $400,000 combined (which would be within normal range for two NYC professionals in early thirties and not out of line for one) for the purchase to be within means - I'm assuming the OP (+ his wife, if she works) makes slightly less than that.

I don't think New Yorkers get paid all that much more for doing the same thing (maybe 20% more?) but a disproportionate percentage of highest-paying jobs are here.

[slickpoppa]

OP,

I know you said you don't want to commute, but I couldn't resist.

For 1.5 mil you could have 5 BR house like this in Summit NJ:








I have family who live in Summit (down the street from Jim Cramer actually) and it has a nice downtown, good schools, etc. It's a 30 minute train ride into Penn Station and there are definitely trains that could get you there by 6:30. I think my uncle gets into work at about the same time. I've done the commute myself and it is not bad at all.

Working late might be an issue as the trains stop running at around midnight I believe. Anyway, this might be something to consider if your hours become more normal at some point and you want to settle down.

I'm about to start my first job in NYC and currently rent, but I really can't imagine paying 7 figures for an apartment when I could have a really nice house not too far away for the same price. But to each his own.

[ozyman]

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Ugh. That sucks. Makes me want to stay in Chciago soooo much more.

What would be the cheapest I could reasonably get (with roommates) in a safe area that wouldn't be a stupid commute and be near other people my age and have some space?

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I think the Upper East Side below 90th is your best bet. (Above 90 everything gradually starts getting a little ghetto, not necessarily unsafe, but just not as nice and you'll have a longer commute). I currently live on the UES and will be working in the financial district as well. The commute is a bit on the long side, but bearable and I really like the neighborhood. Tons of young people live in the area and there are lots of nice restaurants and expensive buildings that make the neighborhood look nice. With roommates you could probably get a decent 2BR or 3BR for 1400-1500 per person, but probably not in a doorman building (though I think that is totally unnecessary for someone out of college). You can definitely also find something more towards 1200 or 1300, but you'd have to start sacrificing space, niceness, or proximity to the subway.

Another possibility is the lower east side. I lived their last summer and it was an extremely easy commute to the financial district. It's also really close to a lot of good nightlife. The downside of that area, although it varies, is that it can be kinda dirty. You won't see as many really nice townhouses and such like there are on the UWS or UES, some buildings will have graffiti, etc. Also (semi-rant warning) I lived in the part of the LES close to Chinatown, which is pretty f'ing dirty. I think Chinese people either don't care or don't realize that you're supposed to put your trash out the night before it gets picked up and not leave it out for an entire week. Though you could get lucky and find a decent place a little bit closer to SoHo which is generally nicer.

Anyway, one could go on and on about NYC neighborhoods. If you're just out of college and living here for the first time, you're probably gonna have to make some compromises. Definitely allot at least a week, if you can, for apartment hunting. The NYC housing market preys on desperate people trying to find an apartment in one day.

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For anyone in their 20s who is on a budget looking to move into NYC, I would highly recommend checking out Normandie Court at 95th and 3rd. High rise building, doorman, gym/pool/sundeck, subway is a block away, huge building, lots of young people (its nicknamed Dormandie Court). I pay 1200/month for a 2BR converted to 3BR. It doesn't start to get bad until the high 90s in that area. There are always a ton of people who live in Normandie who are looking to take on roommate (check craig list). Its not paradise but you get a ton of space for a relatively affordable price.

[The Rain King]

Predicting short term price movements is always hard. An interesting thing has gone on in NYC real estate though. For probably 20 years people have said something to the effect of "NYC real estate is in a bubble." However, as anyone who reads the prices in the OP can tell, it's just kept going up. The basic point here is that people have expected the market to cool off for years and have consistently been wrong.

The point to take aware here really isn't that the market is going to keep going up, and it's not that it will stop going up, but rather I think you should conclude that people's opinions are probably worthless. Your decision to buy should likely be more a factor of your own financial stability. As long as you're sure you can afford the place you're going to buy, you know you can't get burned too bad (barring a catastrophic price drop that no one will be able to predict). The real danger in NYC real estate would be buying a place to flip it in a few years and really opening yourself to unpredictable price movements.

[Tweety]

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which, sadly, means we'll have to pay no less than $1.5 million, and probably more like $1.8 to $2.3 mil.


[/ QUOTE ]

My god, is that typical of the area or are you just buying a real expensive apartment? It sounds like it's typical.

If thats average, does the average job pay that much more, in the New York area compared to others?

My wife and I just moved from a small 1,500 square foot house about 15 years old With 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and a finished basement into a 1 year old fully detached 4 bedroom model house, about 2,800 squaer feet (including the finished basement) with a fenced yard, hardwood floors throught the entire house, master ensuite, seperate soaker tub & shower, hot tub, granite counters in the kitchen, cathedral ceilings, pillars throught the house tons of upgrades for $292,000 Canadian.

The house we moved out of cost us $151, 500 3 years ago, How do you people afford such absurd morgatge payments? Are you just filthy rich?

Anyways a common mistake people make is to over-extend themselves, they buy to much house and max themselves out.
Go for the smaller apartment

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We aren't filthy rich at all from the net worth standpoint, but we have a good income, and I expect it to get better over the next few years (knock on wood).

$1.5 million doesn't give you many options in nice neighborhoods in NYC for 2 BR's. Maybe downtown, but on the upper east side, which is where most of the good schools are, $1.5 mil doesn't get you much.

[Tweety]

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I have no idea about the Manhatten housing situation, but I do have a question about it:

How much would a studio, a 1 BR, or a 2 BR apartment cost per month for someone working in the financial district and right out of college? I don't know what all the neighborhoods are, so pick one where a lot of similar aged/professioned people live.

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Assuming you're ok with a walkup type situation, you could probably get a studio or small 1 BR in the financial district for around $2,000-plus a month. Anything under $2,000 that seems reasonably nice to you is probably a pretty great deal.

If you want a doorman and elevator situation, you'd be hard pressed to find anything decent for under $2,500.

[slickpoppa]

I just noticed that you have a child as well. So here's some more unsolicited advice: Get out of NYC before (s)he's in school. You'll have to pay the equivalent of college tuition for a good private school in NYC. I don't think Manhattan is a good place to raise children at all. Let your kids have the opportunity to ride their bikes around town and play pickup wiffleball games during the summer.