It’s time for the real estate game, where I describe a New York apartment and you guess how much it costs. It’s based on the NYT real estate section. I’ll put the answers in the comment section below.
1. Upper east side studio on 73rd St. No views, not much light. Fireplace, prewar doorman building. Recently renovated windowed kitchen with stainless steel and glass accents. Beamed ceilings and refinished hardwood floors. There’s no square footage disclosed, but the photo of the living room area looks pretty small.
2. Three-bedroom co-op in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn (St. Marks Ave.). There are some nice parts of Prospect Heights but I would say this area is just okay. The apartment is on the second floor of a four-unit building, and has a washer/dryer, deck and a backyard. It has high ceilings and a fireplace. The living room looks pretty narrow.
3. A two-bedroom, two-bath fourth-floor co-op in Hudson Heights, which is WAY up in the north of Manhattan — most of the neighborhood is north of the George Washington Bridge. Art Deco building, no more details given.
2 Comments
October 17, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Here are the answers — all of them assume that you put 20% down, on a 30-year, 7% mortgage. I haven’t accounted for tax breaks.
1. The Upper East Side studio costs $465,000, so you would pay $2,474, plus maintenance fees of $869 a month, or a total of $3,343 per month — for a studio. And in New York, this isn’t a bad deal. Are people crazy or what?
2. This is probably the best deal of the week, because you actually get something for your money. The price is $825,000, which means you would pay $4,391 a month, plus $750 a month in maintenance, for a total of $5,141. But at least you’d have three bedrooms, a deck, and a garden.
3. The price is $695,000, which means you would pay $3,699 a month, plus monthly maintenance fees, which I would estimate at around $800, for a total of $4,499. And based on the location, you might as well be in the Bronx.
October 21, 2009 at 1:11 pm
As I’ve been listening to NPR recently there is talk about the real estate market “stabilizing,” meaning prices not falling anymore. And, I understand this is desirable, according the experts and those relying on their house equity for their retirement and old age. I don’t understand how this can continue to be a good thing, a desirable thing forever, or the foreverseeable future. So will barely desirable homes be worth 2 million dollars in 20 years, then 4 million dollars in another 20 years — and this is considered a good thing? – if they just continually climb toward infinity? I wish someone ould explain the longer term – or even ten year term logic of this as desirable. It is for those who’re older, but it isn’t for those who are younger. Therefore – how will anyone be able to buy the properties?