Cost of Housing In Manhattan More Expensive Than Ever

There is a word in the real estate sector that city housing is going to be more expensive than ever, specifically, analysts think that buying an apartment in cities like Manhattan is going to be more expensive than ever.

According to NY Post, a report from the largest residential real estate brokerage in the New York, Douglas Elliman, authored by Jonathan Miller, says that the median sales price of $1.15 million for a unit in the metropolitan area broke record highs. The said amount is 17.3 percent higher than the previous year which at that time was considered highest recorder before the financial crash in 2008. Nevertheless, the prices in other areas are already considered steep at $1.02 million.

The very tight supply in the area is said to be the driving force of increasing prices. It was said that the supply of housing is not enough to meet demand. According to Kern Golden Empire, Miller has said, "Inventory jumped from chronically low to very low and remains inadequate to meet demand." It was also noted that not only supply is low, but credit is also quite difficult to obtain and the competition is hard.

Miller has also remarked, "The lower half of the markets have very limited new developments." Even if new developments will occur in the market, these developments reportedly won't be able to ease prices as they are higher on the other side of the market.

However, it is not just the law of supply and demand that is making affordability of housing in Manhattan difficult. According to NY Post, housing policies also have a hand in the steep prices. For example, the intimidation of rent regulation pushes most to be hesitant to build new market-rate rental units, not to mention the huge real-estate taxes as much as 32 percent of gross rental income that landlords are facing.