New York real estate isn’t cheap — but a new study shows just how many city dwellers are saddled by the high cost of home ownership.
Nearly half of New York City homeowners are paying 30 percent or more of their income on housing, according to a new study by New York University’s Furman Center. More than 25 percent pay more than half of their income on housing.
Soaring real estate prices have exacerbated the strain, according to the report, which noted that increased prices have basically made certain neighborhoods affordable for only the 1 percent. “The purchasing power of most New York City households is limited, largely due to growing housing prices and stagnating incomes since 1990,” the report said, according to the Wall Street Journal.
In fact, only 42 percent of residential sales were made by low- to middle-income New Yorkers, the report found. That demographic makes up 77 percent of New York households, who earn up to $114,000 a year.
Brooklyn homeowners face the heaviest burden, according to the report, with 52 percent of homeowners paying more than 30 percent of their income on housing. In Manhattan, homeowners pay 24 percent of their income on housing.
Affordable housing is a signature issue for the current administration and Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to build or restore 200,000 affordable housing units includes 10,000 units of owner-occupied homes. And the city has programs to help limited-income buyers.
“This administration is laser-focused on preserving and creating affordable housing—and a key to that is helping homeowners, many of who carry outsize financial burdens, stay in their homes,” according to a spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development.Last year, a report found that renters in New York City paid 42 percent of their income on rent, according to the Citizens Budget Commission. [WSJ] — EB. Solomont