How hard it is to find a good place to live in (and around) New York City.

glennmagusharvey

When we moved to Connecticut a few years back, I thought there were tons of really great houses to choose from.  We still took a while to find something.

Now that there are practically NO good choices, only less bad ones...

Seriously.  Remember that time when I said that a 1960 4-bedroom house in Manchester, Connecticut can sell for $250,000, but it might be selling for $750,000 in Howard Beach in Queens, NY?  Yeah.  Here's another example: A 4-bedroom-2-bathroom house here, dating from the 20s, is a single-family house that sells for around $200,000, but a 4-bed-2-bath house there, dating from the 20s, is a two-family house that sells for over $400,000.

Oh, and those lovely half-acre lawns that people have around here?

Well, good luck finding those.  Silver lining, though, is that you now have lawns that can be feasibly cut with just a pair of scissors.  In under an hour.

glennmagusharvey

Average age of a house around here?  In some places, the 1990s and 1980s.  In slightly older neighborhoods, the 1960s. In even older neighborhoods, the 1950s, and even the 1940s.

Over there?  A 60s house is one of the newer ones on the block.  Standard fare takes you back to the 20s.

Sammy

IN THIS ECONOMY

Noimporta

It's a very magnetic city, so the real estate market doesn't work like you'd expect it to. If the demand rises, the price goes up, if the supply falls, the price goes up, if the demand falls, the price goes up, if supply rises, the price goes up.