Average Rent = $2,000 a Month, for a Studio in Manhattan

[BachQ]

Associated Press
Avg. Rent: $2,000 a Month, for a Studio

NEW YORK - If you're looking for a Manhattan apartment, be prepared to shell out about $2,000 a month - unless, of course, you'd like a bedroom to go with it.

Studio apartments in Manhattan went for an average of $1,995 a month last year, according to an analysis released Friday by Citi Habitats, a Manhattan rental brokerage firm. That's up from $1,659 in 2002.

The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment shot up to $2,737, compared to $2,227 in 2002, and two-bedroom apartments climbed to $3,893, from $3,198 in 2002. Three-bedroom apartments saw the largest percentage increase: more than 36 percent, from $4,059 in 2002 to $5,534 last year.

The increase did nothing to decrease demand. The overall rental vacancy rate for Manhattan last year was less than 1 percent.

The report reflects that "we're the center of everything," said Citi Habitats spokesman Christopher Dente. "There's a lot of relocation - thousands of people are coming in."

He attributed the bulging rents to the city's strong economy. In addition, the U.S. dollar is low against foreign currencies, "and we're a very popular destination for foreigners," Dente said.

Citi Habitats based its data on 50,000 deals the firm closed from 2002 to 2006.

About 75 percent of housing in Manhattan is comprised of rental properties. The company did not analyze properties in the city's other boroughs - Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island. The study also does not include Manhattan apartments subject to rent control or rent stabilization - at least 10 percent of available properties.

The trend of rising rents continued in the first six months of this year with increases between 4 percent and 8 percent, said Citi Habitats CEO Gary Malin.

[Kullervo]

I have trouble paying $300 a month.

[Heather Harrison]

It seems like housing costs are getting ridiculous everywhere.  I wonder how far it can go before it becomes a serious social problem.  (Of course, it has already become a social problem in expensive places such as San Francisco.)  In Salt Lake City, costs have been going up quite a bit.  It is not unusual these days to see recently built California-style houses or "luxury" condos selling for $400,000 (and we haven't really been hit by the housing downturn).  I can't figure out why so many people want to live here.  We have a rotten climate and close to the worst air quality in the nation.  And to top it off, shopping is rather poor, night life is poor (unless you really know where to look), and public transit is dreadful (although slowly getting better).  The main good point is the proximity of outdoor activities; perhaps that helps to attract people.  The classical music scene is reasonably good too, but that isn't usually a major reason why someone would move to a city (although it might be for some of us on this forum).  I stay here because I have a good job that I don't want to give up; if it goes away, I will likely leave.  I'm tired of breathing pollution all the time.

At least New York City and San Francisco have reasons why lots of people want to live there, so there is an explanation for the high cost of housing.

Heather

[mahlertitan]

duh, it's in Manhattan.

[knight66]

In the UK we have a serious housing shortage and although rents are not low, the trouble is in trying to buy. Approximately 80% of the housing stock is in private hands as against available to rent. Our house doubled in value in nine years and first time buyers are now embarking on mortgages where they are borrowing up to four and a half times their JOINT income and some of these mortgages run until they are 75 years old.

The new Prime Minister is trying to address the problem by peeing into a large bucket. Things will get worse as the population is rising and there are an increasing number of sole occupancy properties as people divorce etc.

Mike

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

Prices are skyrocketing in Vancouver too! If you were here 20-30 years ago, you could have bought a huge, two-story house for a buck or 50 cents, or maybe a handful of brightly-colored beads and a few pieces of string.

Now the cheapest of those houses costs $2 Million. I am sick to death of opening the paper and seeing "luxury" 800 sq. foot condos selling for over a million. Then, down on street level, there is a homeless problem that dwarfs most anything seen in the U.S.

Of course, the world's biggest marketing extravaganza and ripoff (the Olympics), is coming here in 2010. Quick!! Better brush all those homeless people, prostitutes, drug addicts under the rug!!v

[Tancata]

That's pretty bad... things are absolutely awful in Dublin too. To live in the city or close by on the Southside costs about €2,000 a month for an apartment (with bedroom) - thats about $2750 dollars. To live further out from the city costs between €1500 and €2000 a month (apartment), and you face an hour or more commute into the city. On the Northside it is slightly cheaper but still massively expensive. I have moved back with my parents - our house has increased in value from IRL£70,000 (about €100,000) to about a million euro in the past decade. First-time buyers don't exist anymore  . 

Bear in mind that entertainment and facilities-wise, Dublin compares to New York only in terms of nightlife - everything else, from public transport to music, culture etc would be more in line with Salt Lake City...

Also, we're soon going to be as big as Los Angeles sprawling out across the east coast...

To cap it off, the farmers are getting angry with one of the government parties because the government is finally making noises about actually PLANNING development - that will mean less once-off mansions for people on the outskirts of the city...

[Que]

It seems the same everywhere. Here in the Netherlands housing prices have rocketed the last decade.
Especially in the urbanised western part of the country where I live (Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam, Utrecht). I bought my apartment over 7 years ago - the value has tripled since then!

It's ridiculous. People of the generation of my parents with similar education and job, could afford a house for their family on just a single income. Now colleagues of my age who buy for the first time can only afford a modest apartment with TWO incomes and turning out every pocket... Since quality of live is very much determined by housing circumstances and above all: SPACE - I'm seriously considering moving to quieter surroundings, another country if necessary.

Q

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

Say goodbye to the middle class.

And in case you didn't know, food prices are likely to SKYROCKET !!!!!!!!! in the coming years!

[BachQ]

I have moved back with my parents

Very sensible solution!

......... I suppose if a person must live downtown, they can find creative solutions, such as cohabitating with suitable roommates ........

[BachQ]

I'm seriously considering moving to quieter surroundings, another country if necessary.

I was considering moving to Amsterdam! .......

[BachQ]

And in case you didn't know, food prices are likely to SKYROCKET !!!!!!!!! in the coming years!

Really?  Why?

[BachQ]

Things will get worse as the population is rising and there are an increasing number of sole occupancy properties as people divorce etc.

I wonder what underlying forces are driving this ........ is population growth really to blame?  If so, the problem will only grow increasingly dire .........

[Que]

I was considering moving to Amsterdam! .......

Amsterdam is great - if you have the necessary resources...

A modest apartment with 3 rooms (60-75 m²), and in a decent neighbourhood, will fetch 250.000 - 300.000 euros.

Q

[George]

Associated Press
Avg. Rent: $2,000 a Month, for a Studio

NEW YORK - If you're looking for a Manhattan apartment, be prepared to shell out about $2,000 a month - unless, of course, you'd like a bedroom to go with it.

My girlfriend just helped a friend look for a place in Manhattan yesterday.

They now start at $2300.

[Heather Harrison]

Of course, the world's biggest marketing extravaganza and ripoff (the Olympics), is coming here in 2010. Quick!! Better brush all those homeless people, prostitutes, drug addicts under the rug!!v

Salt Lake City had the Olympics in 2002; I think that contributed to our problems.  I feel sorry for any city that gets duped into hosting that gigantic mess.  A few rich people make money from it, and the rest of us pay.

Heather

[BachQ]

They now start at $2300.

Does that include a jacuzzi and a garage space?

[knight66]

I wonder what underlying forces are driving this ........ is population growth really to blame?  If so, the problem will only grow increasingly dire .........

The population has increased in the last ten years and the birth rate is the highest for decades. In part the birthrate is dictated by immigrants who have larger families and they also help the overall population of adults to increase. We needed this shift in demographics as an aging population would become an impossible burden on a decreasing proportion of young people.

Added to this there are more single person households, in terms of a couple of million than 20 years ago. People live longer and often alone and people break up their relationships and also then often live alone.

Very little public housing is being built and there are no signs of any programme to deal with that issue.

I don't see how my son is going to get a property. Perhaps renting will become fashionable again.

Mike.

[Tancata]

I don't see how my son is going to get a property. Perhaps renting will become fashionable again.

At the moment, there are two choices.

1) Rent

2) Get 4 people together and buy a place that just about fits two people. (This place will be far from anywhere you want to be, and will put you in very considerable debt).

2.5) Try not to kill the other 3 people.

Basically, everyone rents. I know one guy who went for option 2, but he regrets it now. One possibility is for parents to donate massive amounts of €€€ (or £££) in order to get their children "onto the ladder". But the amounts are seriously massive. In my university class of 30 well-off people, that was only an option in 2 cases...

Possible option 3 is to move somewhere cheap but interesting. Berlin seems a good bet at the moment  .

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

Really?  Why?

I'm no economist, but some analyses I've read are are of the opinion that several factors are going to work together to push the price of food, especially grains and corn, and all types of meat, through the roof in the coming years--and they are not going to come back down, ever. One factor is the rising affluence and productivity of emerging economies such as China, India, etc. which have very large populations. As more and more people get their slice of the pie economically (and present-day China is about as communist as my ass) the demand for all types meat (chickenporkbeef, etc.) will also increase greatly, thus diverting grains and corn to the feeding of livestock animals, rather than being eaten by humans directly. Eating plant matter directly is much more efficient than eating animals produced with the same plant matter; great amounts of energy are lost at every step up in the food web (I'm no vegetarian BTW). With X amount of grain, you could either feed 100 people, or produce enough meat to feed 10 people; a great amount of energy is lost every step up in the food web. Anyway, this will drive up the price of meat as well as the food necessary to feed them, and us.

One article I read said that the "cheap food" we have enjoyed in the last 50 years is an aberration historically, and that before WWII, people spent much more of their incomes on food than they do now. All that is supposedly set to change.