Another NYC gal - prices are insane here. We own a two bedroom, two bath co-op apartment, approximately 1200 square feet. We paid $425K in 1999 and it was just appraised at $755K. The market is so hot right now, we could probably sell for close to $800K. The problem would be buying again - if we wanted to upgrade to a three bedroom, we're looking at $1,000,000 minimum in the neighborhoods we'd want to live in.
If you don't make a kajillion dollars a year, it's so hard to break into the NYC real estate market. DH and I got lucky - we bought our first place back in 1995 in Manhattan. It was a one bedroom (convertible to two if you didn't want a dining room), 1-1/2 baths, maybe 950 square feet. It was an estate sale, and the heir lived in California and had no desire to live in his late father's NYC apartment. It was vacant for almost a year, and we got it for $153K. At that time, that was a low low price for the high-rise full-service building we bought into, and the board almost turned down the sale because they didn't want to set a precedent for such a low amount. We sold three years later for $325K, and the profit we made from that jump in value enabled us to buy our current place. But now the profit we'd make on our current place wouldn't finance an upgrade. Glad we're happy here.
Allison
If you don't make a kajillion dollars a year, it's so hard to break into the NYC real estate market. DH and I got lucky - we bought our first place back in 1995 in Manhattan. It was a one bedroom (convertible to two if you didn't want a dining room), 1-1/2 baths, maybe 950 square feet. It was an estate sale, and the heir lived in California and had no desire to live in his late father's NYC apartment. It was vacant for almost a year, and we got it for $153K. At that time, that was a low low price for the high-rise full-service building we bought into, and the board almost turned down the sale because they didn't want to set a precedent for such a low amount. We sold three years later for $325K, and the profit we made from that jump in value enabled us to buy our current place. But now the profit we'd make on our current place wouldn't finance an upgrade. Glad we're happy here.
Allison