New York City is known for its expensive housing. There is even a political party called the “Rent is Too Damn High Party,” which received tens of thousands of votes in the 2010 election. Well the average monthly apartment rent in NYC has finally broken $3000 for the first time.
Some neighborhoods, especially in the Manhattan area, homes can be worth way over a million dollars. Rent is high because prices are high, and prices are high because of demand. The US real estate market is recovering quite well. Brooklyn homes rose 15% in the past year, and in Queens, the median price is up nearly 10%. As more people want to live in a large city, real estate is bound to get more pricey.
The second most expensive place to rent in US is San Francisco at $1999 per month. The average US apartment rent is only $1062 per month. In Canada, an apartment within the city center of Toronto would rent for $1500 to $2500 depending on size and location. In Montreal, it’s $1000 to $1500, and in Vancouver, it’s $1300 to $2900.
It’s not completely fair to compare cost of living on dollar figures alone because New York residents make on average more than Vancourites. So let’s compare real estate prices to how much someone’s projected to make. The higher the ratio, the less affordable a city is for housing.
I don’t think housing is over valued anywhere in North America. Cities like Vancouver have expensive houses because people here value their homes and value the idea of owning where they live. Real estate is one the most popular topics when people here are having a conversation. But maybe in another part of the country owning isn’t as important. In the end it’s all about supply and demand. As long as a city doesn’t overbuild, their real estate market should do fine 🙂 If I had the money I would buy an apartment in New York. Despite how expensive it looks, the demand will continue to be there to hold up its value. And $3000 of rental income a month doesn’t sound bad at all 😀
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Random Useless Fact:
During the first two years of a baby’s life, new parents will miss six months of sleep on average.
I live in LA and couldn’t imagine paying 3k a month!!! In LA it totally varies depending on how popular a neighborhood is and what amities. Where I live by the beach, I would say the average for a one bedroom (like a no frills, oldish, run down 1 bed) is aprox $1500-$1700 average. Mine is $1450, but I live in little less beachy town then Manhattan or Hermosa Beach.
Looks like you found quite a bargain. 1 bedroom apartments around my neighborhood is about $1100. I live in sort of the suburbs area so rent is a little cheaper than in the city center.
Interesting. I wouldn’t have pegged Prague for being more expensive than Vancouver, but then again I haven’t been there in over a decade. A friend of mine uprooted himself and moved to London last year when he finished his degree. I’m going to have to give him an even bigger pat on the back for making a life for himself there!
It’s nice to see other countries if you have the time. I’ve never been to Europe or the UK before. I think land and buildings are valued in different ways depending on region and any historic value there.
It’s no surprise the cost to rent at $3000 a month, like you point out in Toronto it’s just as nutty to rent a place. I don’t know if I’d be prepared to pay that much rent but if I had to and I knew I was making a good income and there was promise in my field, I’d consider it. I know so many people that move to Toronto to live the dream… and it costs them big bucks because it’s so far out of their reach.
I used to live in Toronto a long time ago. Some people think there is a lot of money to be made in Toronto because it’s the financial hub of Canada but not everyone can have a high paying job there. It depends on what profession they’re in. There’s probably more opportunities in larger cities than in Vancouver but people still need a plan.
Life is all about choices. We all basically start with nothing and venture forth, some with more help and luck than others. $3K, month for rent… No thanks I’ll pass. My house, which we own and is paid for, costs slightly less than $800/mo. to operate all costs in (heating, hydro, maintenance (planned and unplanned), taxes and insurance). Funny, if I include our second place ($600/mo.), I still come up to less than half of the $3K/mo…. Choices is all I can say, choices – Cheers.
Some people choose to buy, others choose to rent. I think if you like a certain location and plan to live there for at least a few years then it’s better to buy. Once you pay it off the costs of running it is far less than ever increasing rental prices. It’s only a matter of time before the average rent in large Canadian cities to be over $2000.
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Wow it’s nice. I’ve come to know about the house renting system of NYC through this article. Does a house really cost $3000 per month?