Re:Why not just a simple spreadsheet of salaries?
by jrockway on Tuesday March 22, 2016 @12:50PM
(#11337861)
I agree it's not a fair value right now. Brooklyn is certainly in a bubble, or if not a bubble, a period of aggressive overpricing. I don't think prices are going to fall, causing one to lose money if they buy right now... but I also don't think that you're going to resell your $1M one-bedroom in Gowanus for $2M in 5 years. Objectively, that's a lot of money.
You're definitely competing with households that have two incomes, hence 3 million dollars being spent on one bedroom apartments. If you have a household income of $1M a year pre-tax, certainly a possibility for two programmers mid-career, then you have a lot of options.
Personally, I don't care about living in New York except that my job is here, so it may be nearing the time to move back to Chicago.
I'm not an expert but my opinion is the NYC housing market isn't a deal right now or even a fair value. I'm not saying it's a bubble, but it's certainly not cheap. If I stay here I'm just going to keep saving and see if I get lucky with a housing dip and my savings intact.
Plus, if you buy into a co-op (more common in Manhattan I believe) the purchase requirements are steep. Often 30% down, 2 years mortgage/maintenance/taxes in liquid cash available, among other things. High entry requirements but creates some stability.
I really think renting is cheaper than buying in NYC right now when you factor in all the costs. You get a nice tax write off with owning, to be sure, but it's a wash I've figured. I don't see how prices can keep getting higher and higher right now. But I thought that 4 years ago too in places in Brooklyn and I was wrong.
What's funny is my only other real option is to move to London since my wife is from there and would eventually like to move back I think. Their housing market is in fact a bubble and I simply wouldn't buy anywhere near there right now.