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It's hard to evaluate these numbers, without full access to the decision tree and source dat) they are working with. One very common mistake people make in eva
by lisasays 4y ago
It's hard to evaluate these numbers, without full access to the decision tree and source dat) they are working with.
One very common mistake people make in evaluating NYC living costs is to work with rent statistics provided by ... high-end real estate brokers. For example in an another Bloomberg article that the story links to:
The median rent on newly signed leases last month was $4,095, down just $2 from January, according to appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate.
Everyone in NYC knows this just isn't true -- a very large portion of NYC tenants live in either rent-stabilized units, or in units not listed on the MLS system that these brokers work with (and from which they get these numbers from).
Not surprisingly, these brokers have a vested interest in propping up the idea that "you just have to" fork over $4k a month for rent in NYC.
Now, rent stabilized units of course aren't exactly easy to get -- and you may not want to live in many of these units. But on a strictly factual basis - the true median rents in NYC are far lower than the numbers provided by these high-end brokers.
Finally, there's the fact that NYC is one of the few cities where one legitimately does not need to maintain car at all (easily a $6k-$10k savings every year). The article simply mentions "transportation" but completely glosses over this crucial distinction between NYC and other cities.
- mcntsh 4y agoAFAIK, being a rent stabilized unit has no bearing on the actual rent cost, it just means landlords cannot raise the rent above a certain percentage after contract renewal. My 1br apartment is almost $4k/mo and it's rent stabilized.
- lisasays 4y agoYeah, there's a certain number of stabilized units which are "high-end" (for those earning 80-100 percent of the local median income), whose rents scarcely differ from those of market-rate units. But I assure you the vast bulk of stabilized units have grandfathered rents from way back, and these are far below market. Which is why the industry always fights tooth-and-claw to get these restrictions lifted or lessened, any time they get half a chance.
- malshe 4y agoI am curious, how big is this difference between the rents?
- lisasays 4y agoI don't have the numbers on the back of my hand, but they can be far less (often less than half) of the market rate - please see the sibling comment I just posted about this.
- jeffbee 4y agoRent-stabilized units are about half the housing stock but much less than half the market because they never turn over. As such they are irrelevant to new arrivals or people weighing the possibility of of moving there. Anyway I do not find the $4095 number very shocking. In Berkeley where I live the median new lease for 3-bedroom rent-stabilized apartment, and these are far from "luxury" as they are all at least 40 years old, was $4300.
- lisasays 4y agoAs such they are irrelevant to new arrivals or people weighing the possibility of of moving there. Of course there are contingent factors involved. I'm just saying that factually, the median rent numbers put out by the brokers are plainly bogus.
- vanilla_nut 4y agoLiving without a car in NYC definitely helps with affordability! I saved several thousand a year on that. But you should also account for the following costs: - subway fare ($120/mo, possibly pre-tax on a commuter card) - rideshares or rental vans for occasional large item pickups - rental cars or unreasonably expensive Amtrak fares when you want to leave the city or visit family (the rest of the USA requires a car, ofc) After those costs, you're saving more like $1-5k/year. You can avoid them if you walk more than average or never get out of the city, but in my experience there's a bit of a mental health toll if you spend many many months in NYC and never get out of the city, especially if you have friends and family outside of the city.
- lisasays 4y agoRight, one can dissect the true costs a bunch of ways. Without access to the methods and date the article is drawing from, it's impossible to hold much stock in their conclusions.