Just why do so many people love New York City? What with the miserable weather for 9 months every year, the grid-locked streets, packed restaurants and dirty subway stations, things couldn’t get any better, could they?
Well apparently they just did for some. According to a new market report from the real estate Miller Samuel, released on Friday, New Yorkers are not only enjoying all of the above delights, but now they have the privilege of paying five times as much as the rest of America does for their homes. So how is this good?
New York’s housing market is looking strong compared to other parts of the U.S., not that that says a lot. Prices have dropped considerably since the peak of 2008, when a condo was costing an average $1,400 per square foot. This year, the price has dropped to little more than $1,000.
This almost 30% drop means a cool $1 million discount on the price of a 1,000 square foot condo.
The average price of a New York home fell by 2% in the first quarter of this year, to around $800,000, according to an estimate by the Corcoran Group.
Things are unlikely to change much more though, thinks Jonathan Miller of Miller Samuel. He said that “Prices are neither likely to rise or fall for the rest of the year. We’re experiencing a post-stimulus real estate market, and it’s going to be weak. Expect 2011 to be quite boring”.