real estate bubble?

Why haven't wages increased? I've lived here for 5 years, only one year did I not get a raise. I threated to quit, and I got 2 raises the next year. No matter where you live, you should always expect a cost of living increase every year.

Ahhh, yes that can be tough. Sorry that I didn't consider that. Maybe some other freelancers can help out with this discussion...

i would like cheaper rent

Ive wanted to go to Berlin for awhile now. I need to polish up on my german and go visit.

and honestly for the area around grand army plaza (where I live) the rent can get alittle silly but overall I think compared to the majority of brooklyn and manhattan its reasonable. Close to tons of subway options with little train switching, the park, lots of places to eat and nice bars, very low crime compared to the majority of the city and for the most part great people.

even though the area has its problems I cant see myself living anywhere else in new york.

Ben wrote:
Are you saying that the rental stock will be growing steadily? I'm seeing lots of condo projects that will be coming online soon but haven't seen much in the way of new rental projects with the exception of the Jewish hospital and the building next door to it on St. Marks. Those have been open for a while now so I think that any impact they may have is pretty much worked into the market already.

The rate of condo sales has slowed, especially resales, but the inventory keeps rising and there's more on the way; they may eventually sell or go straight to rental. Your typical established condo building is maybe 60% owner occupied at equilibrium; the rest is rental. Over the next few years, more competition from renting a condo means less competition for renting in a rental building means slower rate of rent rises compared with a neighborhood which doesn't have a lot of new construction.

doctorj wrote: [quote=Ben]
Are you saying that the rental stock will be growing steadily? I'm seeing lots of condo projects that will be coming online soon but haven't seen much in the way of new rental projects with the exception of the Jewish hospital and the building next door to it on St. Marks. Those have been open for a while now so I think that any impact they may have is pretty much worked into the market already.

The rate of condo sales has slowed, especially resales, but the inventory keeps rising and there's more on the way; they may eventually sell or go straight to rental. Your typical established condo building is maybe 60% owner occupied at equilibrium; the rest is rental. Over the next few years, more competition from renting a condo means less competition for renting in a rental building means slower rate of rent rises compared with a neighborhood which doesn't have a lot of new construction.

OK, I understand your point but that's a lot of speculation as to what will happen with the projects that are currently being built. It's true that sales have slowed down from their previous pace but the condos being built are still selling.

Of the new buildings that will be coming on line shortly I don't see a shift towards rentals, at least not yet. It could happen but it doesn't appear to be imminent as the units are steadily being bought up.

In fact the opposite could happen as conversions take rental units out of the market. This has been happening to many of the older buildings in the area, further constraining the supply of rentals and leading to price increases, not decreases.

In the end the greatest factor that will impact prices of both sales and rentals is the number of people moving into or out of NY. Currently we are experiencing more people moving in and the new housing units being built aren't able to keep pace with the demand. This may change but it's difficult to say when.