Staten Island Most Affordable in NYC for First Time Home Buyers, Realtors Say

I had the pleasure of chatting with Tracey Porpora over at the Staten Island Advance last week about New York City’s ranking for affordability of first time homebuyer’s options.  The title of the article was Staten Island Most Affordable in NYC for First Time Home Buyers, Realtors say.

The list was published on WalletHub.com.  This personal finance website ranks a host of categories city by city related to personal finance.

The website focuses on twenty-seven different metrics designed to factor in everything from Real Estate tax rates to property crime rankings – from cost of living to housing affordability to determine the order in which each city is listed.

The two lists of particular interest in this discussion was most affordable cities for first time homebuyers by overall data standings and the rankings as New York City stacks up against only other cities of similar size.

Let’s start with the overall rankings city by city across the country.  On this list 300 cities were evaluated. New York City came in at the bottom 8% of the list. That placed us at number 274 out of a possible 300 cities ranked.

Next, the website in an attempt to level the playing field, ranked New York City on a list with similar sized cities. On this list, if you expected first time home buyers to find a favorable result, you are completely wrong! Under these metrics New York City ranked in the bottom 10% placing number 58 of a possible 64.

However, if you are a first time home buyer, searching for that starter home here on Staten Island, you’re in luck! I was quoted as saying “The city has become extraordinarily expensive to live in, however, Staten Island has been far more measured in its growth over the years. There are few places in the country where you can be a 25-minute free boat ride, job epicenter of the world, and still find a starter home for under $600,000. Staten Island has really emerged as a very viable alternate for first time buyers fleeing our far more expensive counterpart boroughs.”

While $600,000 is not inexpensive by any stretch, when you consider the average pay scale, employment base, and market penetration numbers in the other 4 boroughs, Staten Island offers quite an investment opportunity.

By: James Prendamano

If you are a first time home buyer, a season investor, or a player in the commercial marketplace, give us a call at 718.816.7799 or email info@CasandraProperties.com.