New Yorkers pay 1.3 times more for housing in absolute terms than average Americans, and in order to accommodate high housing costs, nearly one third of New Yorkers (31%) exceeded their initial budget on their current home, according to a new StreetEasy New York City Housing & Moving Trends Report out Tuesday. Homeowners were more likely to overspend: 37% went over their initial home budget, compared to 27% of renters.
The StreetEasy report surveyed 1,000 renters and homeowners living across all five boroughs, and details the ways New Yorkers struggle to find an affordable home after the rapid rise in prices and rents over the last decade. According to the survey, there are stark differences in how different generations, homeowners, and renters tackle and perceive the high costs of housing in New York City.
Millennials are more likely than any other generation to exceed their budget, with 45% choosing a more expensive home than they'd planned on, compared to 30% of Generation Xers and 19% of baby boomers. Millennials are also most likely to consider buying a home in the next year, with more than one third (34%) hoping to do so.
"Younger New Yorkers, many of whom came to New York City to take advantage of the career opportunities it offers, are finding a housing market that is expensive, fast-moving and highly competitive," said StreetEasy Senior Economist Grant Long. "But despite facing rising housing costs and budgeting constraints, aspirations of owning a home remain high in the city, particularly among millennials. While New Yorkers' widespread desire to remain in the city is encouraging, the region's continued success depends on maintaining an adequate supply of affordable homes that fit the priorities of its growing workforce."
Most surveyed New Yorkers cited budget and number of bedrooms as the most important factors in a home, with 88% and 79% of residents citing them as a requirement or desire, respectively. Luxury amenities, such as doormen and gyms, ranked as the least important factors. 54% and 64% of New Yorkers say these features had no impact on their home decision, respectively.
Asked to rate which factors they required or desired of their current neighborhood, safety and access to public transportation were most important to New Yorkers. 90% of residents cite safety as a requirement or desire, and 87% mention access to public transportation — a pattern true for both owners and renters.
Additional report findings:
• Many New Yorkers perceive New York City as unaffordable (46%). However, when asked to rate the affordability of their own homes, just 16% of New Yorkers say their home is unaffordable, revealing a dissonance in the perception of the city's housing costs.
• Most New Yorkers would recommend life in NYC (57%), particularly millennials (67%) and homeowners (65%).
• Renters are significantly more likely to rate the cost of the city negatively: More than half (52%) of renters say New York City is unaffordable, compared to 39% of homeowners.
• More than 1 in 3 New Yorkers plan to move in the next year. The majority are considering staying in their borough (71%); fewer plan to stay in their neighborhood (36%).
• More than one third (39%) of New Yorkers cite the high cost of living as a top reason they would leave, with the desire for a bigger home and to buy a home also ranking highly (32% and 29%, respectively).
