Metro NY is a two-faced market
It’s a tale of two housing markets. In Manhattan and trendy sections of Brooklyn, high average sale prices and fat down payments are signs of a continued strong recovery this spring from the dark days of 2008.
In parts of the five boroughs and Long Island devastated by the housing downturn, however, foreclosure activity is rising, showing that an uneven recovery continues to divide metro New York.
“It’s Jekyll and Hyde,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “You have high prices and the highest average down payment in the country in many of the New York metro areas, but there’s still a backlog of foreclosures.”
As wouldbe buyers scout spring listings, they face a tight market heavily skewed toward those with piles of cash on hand. Four of the five boroughs made RealtyTrac’s firstquarter list of the top 10 counties in America with the highest average down payments. Only the Bronx stayed off the list, coming in at a respectable 86, with an average down payment of just $68,424 and average sales price of $389,013. That contrasts sharply with Manhattan’s average price of more than $1 million and average down payment of $423,000.
Those who lack huge cash reserves are watching their dream of home ownership in New York City recede, experts said. Caught between rising rents and stagnant incomes, potential firsttime buyers can’t save up enough for today’s ballooning down payments.
Rents continue an upward march as well, which started after the housing bubble burst. Median rental prices rose 3.5 percent in Manhattan in April — the 14th consecutive month of yearover year gains — and 5 percent in Brooklyn and Queens, according to the Elliman Report by real estate appraisal firm Miller Samuel.
Listing inventory for Manhattan coops and condos was up 5 percent in the first quarter, but it’s below longterm averages and not enough to meet demand, the Elliman Report said.
“You’re going to see continued pressure on consumers, whether it’s rising prices or faster marketing times,” said Jonathan Miller, CEO of Miller Samuel. “The local economy is booming, but housing is proving to be the biggest economic challenge that the city has.”