Tuesday, May 15, 2007

New York Ain't Cheap

The city that never sleeps just got a whole lot more expensive for a place to put a bed down in. Apartment prices skyrocketed 23 percent across the board in the five burroughs. While housing prices have stagnated in many parts of the country, NYC is oblivious to any signs of slowing down. The average apartment is now $745,000 dollars or $671 dollars per square foot. Of course that is broken down further when you look at places in throughout the burroughs. Obviously you aren't going to find Queens prices in Manhattan.

From New York Business:


Manhattan, once again, took the lead with the highest average sale price for apartments at $1.1 million. Brooklyn was second at $441.000, while Queens came in third at $257,000.

In Manhattan, the average price per square foot for apartments rose 3% to $1,103, while in Brooklyn and Queens had prices per square foot of $476 and $348, respectively. Percentages for Brooklyn and Queens were not immediately available.

In the five boroughs, the average sale price for one-to-three family homes climbed 7% to $595,000, while median sale prices grew 8% to $540,000. Manhattan saw the biggest increase of 16%, on average. Sale prices in Brooklyn and the Bronx rose 7%, Queens sale prices gained 4% and Staten Island sale prices edged up 3%.

Basically all the numbers show that the boom isn't stopping in NYC anytime soon. No matter where you go, expect high prices all around in this regional sellers' market. The question for renters who are looking to buy is when to do it. Do you wait for the market to level out or jump in as soon as possible. The latter would seem to keep the fuel on the fire of the market....but no one wants to be left behind.