One of the most interesting, modern, and dynamic cities in the world is, without a doubt, Apartment In New York, a cultural and social point of reference for the United States and for the entire western world. The Big Apple is one of the most desired cities ever and there are many people who would like to live there, even if only for a short time.
Living in New York is a lifestyle choice that brings with it a series of rather important expenses. An apartment has a decidedly high cost, both in terms of purchase and rent.
Buying An Apartment In New York
In terms of average price per square meter, in fact, New York with 12,849.08 dollars is in tenth place in the ranking of the most expensive cities in the world for the purchase of a new apartment. In this ranking, Hong Kong takes first place, with more than 23,000 dollars in average price per square meter, followed by London, with more than 18,000 dollars.
How Many Rooms?
It is important to underline how the real estate market in New York follows particular guidelines. More than the actual square meters, the cost of an apartment is determined by the number of rooms and, in particular, the number of bedrooms. For those looking for a home in New York, there are various possibilities, starting from larger apartments, “three bedrooms” and “two bedrooms “, to smaller solutions, “one bedrooms” or “studios “. The evaluation of the price per square meter will come only at a later time. The real estate units in the city of New York are, in fact, divided into categories according to the number of rooms.
Studio And One Bedroom: Differences
It is also necessary to highlight the difference between the “one bedroom” and “studio” apartments. A one-bedroom apartment usually refers to a single real estate unit with a bedroom, a kitchen, a living room, and a bathroom.
A studio, on the other hand, represents a single multi-purpose room, usually larger than the rooms of a one-bedroom apartment, which includes the sleeping area, the living room, and the kitchen. The studio real estate units can even have substantial dimensions and are larger than the one-bedroom apartments.
The Average Price Of Apartments In Various Areas Of New York
New York is a city of more than 8 million inhabitants and is divided into five boroughs, which in turn are divided into a long series of districts, creating real cities within the city.
New York’s five boroughs are Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island.
The average price of an apartment in New York varies significantly by neighborhood and by county. In general, Manhattan is the most expensive area in New York City. Manhattan’s average apartment price is nearly $20,000 per square foot, closely followed by Brooklyn.
Coops Or Condos Are Two Different Solutions For Buying An Apartment In New York
When buying a house in New York it is possible to come across apartments in Coops or Condos.
In the first case, when you buy an apartment in Coop, you actually buy shares in a company that owns the condominium where the real estate unit is located. The company then leases the apartment to the buyer under a long-term lease. The buyer will be required to pay the ordinary and extraordinary maintenance and management costs, property taxes, and any mortgage on the building. Coops have the option of selecting the buyer and evaluating various parameters before proceeding with the actual sale of a share in the company that owns the property. In fact, the buyer becomes a partner in the company that owns the building and will have to be accepted by the other partners.
By purchasing an apartment in a condominium, on the other hand, you are buying a single real estate unit in the building. The buyer is also the co-owner of the common parts of their management and maintenance and is required to pay the related expenses. For the same square footage, an apartment in a condo has a higher value than one in Coops.
As a rule, the New York real estate market offers more options in Coops than in Condos. Those who buy a house in one of the areas of New York City will find a very limited number of Condos solutions while Coops options will abound and could even be more convenient in economic terms.
Costs To Be Incurred For The Purchase Of An Apartment
Once the right apartment to buy in New York has been identified, it is necessary to make a series of assessments regarding the costs associated with the purchase of the real estate unit itself, whether in Coops or Condos.
The Down Payment, or the deposit to be paid for the purchase, is usually between 10 and 30% of the total value of the apartment. Coops require a minimum of 20% even if in several cases the down payment reaches 30%. Buying in a condo is more flexible and the buyer may even be required as little as 10%.
As far as the Closing Costs are concerned, however, the percentage usually varies between 2 and 6%. For the purchase of apartments in buildings already built, the percentage fluctuates between 2 and 4% while for the purchase in new buildings it can even reach 6%.
Rent An Apartment In New York
A rather interesting solution for living in New York is represented by the possibility of renting an apartment instead of buying it. The New York real estate rental market follows similar rules and guidelines to that of sales and, consequently, the prices of an apartment in New York are among the highest in the world. Unlike the purchase price, New York is not the most expensive city in America when it comes to renting.
San Francisco, with an average price of $3,500 a month, is in fact the most expensive American city ahead of New York, where the average price of an apartment is just over $3,000, with “one-bedroom” solutions costing, on average, 2,700 dollars and “two-bedroom” solutions that come close to 3,500 dollars.
The most expensive area of New York is Manhattan and in particular, Central Park where the average rental price comes close to 8,000 dollars. After Central Park, also in Manhattan, we find Carnegie Hill and Tribeca with respectively $5,200 and $4,900. Above the threshold of 4 thousand dollars, we also find Battery Park and North Sutton Area, also in Manhattan.
Renting an apartment in New York, as the data shows, can become very expensive especially if you choose some of the most sought-after and exclusive areas of the city. To live in New York it is also necessary to take into account various ancillary expenses which go, playfully, to increase the monthly expenditure of New York citizens.
Do Not Exceed The 30 Rule
In the United States, it is generally recommended to follow “Rule 30” to determine the maximum rent you can afford. According to this rule, you shouldn’t spend more than 30% of your income, after taxes, on the rental of an apartment.
However, considering the average prices in New York, the 30% threshold can become a real obstacle for those who want and must live in the Big Apple. A $ 2,700-a-month one-bedroom solution would mean that you would have to earn more than $8,000 a month, after tax, to afford this type of apartment.
Extra Costs Associated With Renting An Apartment In New York
In addition to the rent, in any case, various additional expenses related to the house must be considered.
Heating, if not included in the rent, can cost around 50 dollars a month while electricity has an average cost of 75 dollars a month even if in this case the cost depends significantly on the size of the apartment and the use of energy by the tenants. Smaller apartments may come with lower costs than reported.
Among the expenses we must also consider the cost of the Internet connection, the most widespread is with Time Warner Cable, about 45 dollars a month to surf on average up to 15 Mega, and cable TV (although you can do without this ), about $115 a month.
Also to evaluate the costs related to waste that may not be included in the rent (about 25 dollars a month) as well as water and sewage fees (about 50 dollars) and, for some housing solutions, also the parking, a real luxury for New Yorkers, who notoriously prefer to travel using the subway network.
A parking space costs up to $300 a month. Some New York condominiums also include common laundry areas, which cost between $0.25 and $5 per load. Furthermore, it should be considered that a fitness center costs, on average, about 130 dollars a month in New York.
In evaluating the overall costs of a rental apartment in New York, it is therefore important to also take into consideration these ancillary costs which risk increasing, even significantly, the monthly expenditure for one’s New York apartment.
The Solution: Share The Apartment With Tenants
One solution to reduce the cost of renting an apartment in New York is to share the apartment with another person. In this case, the cost of rent in the city is reduced, even substantially. A room with a private bathroom costs from 850 to 3500 dollars in Manhattan (the cost is very strongly linked to the area) while in Brooklyn or Queens the costs can vary between 750 and 1500 dollars a month.
Opting for a solution that includes a room with a shared bathroom allows you to drastically reduce the cost of the rent. In the main areas of New York, especially in Manhattan, the costs of a room with a shared bathroom are still very high and higher than those of rooms with a private bathroom in other areas of the Big Apple.
