New York is considered one of the most expensive cities to live in and so is the real estate. The real estate business is very competitive with property getting on the market and being bought in a very short period of time. The market rates in New York apartments are incredibly expensive. According to Elimann report done with close consultations with Millar Samuel a leading independent appraisal firm the housing prices in Manhattan has continued to rise since 2013.This is mainly because of the difference in demand and supply. This has applied upward pressure leading to the prices of housing going up. The median sales price for a new property was $1629000 and that of a re-sale is $ 876000.The median sales price for a one bedroom condo is listed as $610000, that of a one bed room co-op is $630000 and that of a loft for $2,626,156.
The market prices continue to be competitive, if you are looking for property do not panic there are several options to take and there is always something for everyone. Cheap apartments are hard to find but with a little bit of effort you can find one. You can try by first looking for a rent regulated apartments and then wait for market rents to go up. Rent regulation program in New York covers most rental properties built before 1974. About one million houses in the city are subject to this program. Under this program your rent can only go up by a certain percentage per annum and the landlord has to offer renewal lease annually.
The next thing you can do is apply for inclusionary housing lotteries and hope for the best. This program gives developers of new property incentives to give a certain percentage of new apartments at affordable prices with restricted rent but this is based mainly on luck. Another program you can try is the Mitchell Lama program that is mainly run by the state of New York and it gives developers tax breaks and mortgage rates to provide affordable housing. The last but not least thing you can try is to move into housing project or get a section eight housing voucher. This is mainly for people who are poor. Under section 8 if your income is below the area median income you are viable for a voucher that helps you pay for your apartment and limit your rent to 30% of your income. This voucher unfortunately is mostly over applied and even if you fit the category you might not get it. All these programs require time and if time is not an asset then you require a good eye and need to painstakingly go through the process for getting an apartment.
The first thing to do is to affiliate yourself to a real estate agency. The agency will help you find property you want within your price range and with features that you want. Then after locating your preferred apartment you can thereby bid for the property. Bidding wars can be very taxing but the best offer or person that meets the requirements always wins. The most important thing to do as a buyer is to know what you are looking for, research the market, view as many apartments as you can, visit a lot of open houses also research on brokers then if you decide on an apartment file in your papers as quick as possible, negotiate and sign a lease and there you go you’ve got your keys.