My girlfriend is discovering that finding an affordable one-bedroom apartment in the outer boroughs of New York City on a teacher’s salary — even though teachers in New York are paid more than anywhere else in the country — is next to impossible.
A real estate brokerage, Marcus & Millichap, must have been following her around during her latest search, as they just put out a report declaring New York City (not just Manhattan) the most expensive rental market in the country.
The research group also predicts rents in New York will rise more than 6% this year, which will likely exceed inflation, due to the housing market (purchases) slowing down.
Northern New Jersey isn’t far down the list, but according to this chart is much more affordable. I’d like to see the New York City figure broken down by borough. I expect Queens and Staten Island will look more like Northern New Jersey, while Brooklyn is higher, and Manhattan’s prices are high enough to skew the average significantly. I don’t know much about the Bronx.
The article also describes the least expensive rental markets. Tucson, Arizona tops the list with an average 2006 rent of only $615 a month.
Are the low prices motivation enough to move out to the southwest or mid-west?








