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Summary of Key Findings

Full report available: NYU Furman Center / Citi Report on Homeownership & Opportunity in New York City (PDF)

The majority of sales in New York City in 2014 were too expensive for the vast majority of New York City households. Households earning up to $114,000 (comprising 77% of New York City households) could only afford 42% of 2014 home sales in New York City. Households earning to $83,000 annually (comprising 66% of New York City households) could only afford 22% of 2014 sales in New York City.

New York City’s homeownership rate is less than half that of the U.S. Less than a third of New York City households (31%) owned a home in 2014—the inverse of the U.S. homeownership rate (63%) of almost two-thirds.

Homeownership rates vary dramatically across the city’s five boroughs. The homeownership rate in Staten Island exceeded that of the U.S. with a rate of 68 percent in 2014—five percentage points higher than the national homeownership rate. However, the homeownership rate in the Bronx was only 18 percent—the second-lowest of any county in the U.S.

New York City homeowners had higher incomes than the typical New York City household and had higher incomes than homeowners nationwide in 2014. The median owner household in New York City earned just over $86,000 in 2014, 63 percent more than the overall median New York City household ($53,063) and 26 percent more than owner households nationwide.

New York City had far lower rates of homeownership among households earning up to $55,000 than the U.S. in 2014. In 2014, just over half (58%) of households earning up to $55,000 in the U.S. owned their homes. Among these households in New York City, homeownership rates were far lower; only 25 percent of households earning up to $55,000 annually in New York City owned their homes in 2014.

The New York City real estate market is expensive; the median city sales price is only affordable to high-income households. In 2014, there were over 33,000 home purchases in New York City with a median sales price of $575,700. The median sales price in Manhattan was over twice as high at $1,301,600 than the city median, and sales under $500,000 were concentrated outside of Manhattan.

Home sales under $500,000 in New York City were largely concentrated outside of Manhattan. The relatively few 2014 sales affordable to households earning up to $55,000 annually were clustered in eastern Queens, the north Bronx, and the north shore of Staten Island.

Of the sales affordable to households earning up to up to $34,000 annually, a large share (37%) were condominiums. Among the properties sold in New York City in 2014 that were affordable to households earning up to $34,000 annually, 37% were condominium units, making them as common as single-family homes at that price level.

Westchester County is less affordable to NYC households than New York City; only 18% of 2014 home sales were affordable to households earning up to $114,000. The vast majority of sales prices in Westchester County in 2014—about 82 percent—were affordable only to NYC households earning above $114,000.

Homeownership prospects for NYC households earning up to $114,000 annually are better in Nassau County than New York City. Households earning up to $114,000 annually could afford 56% of home sales in 2014—more than the 42% of 2014 sales in New York City. Only about 6% of sales were affordable to NYC households earning up to $55,000 in 2014, and an additional 18% of sales were affordable to households earning between $55,000-83,000.

Suffolk County offered the most affordable home purchase options for households at all income levels, where a majority of sales in 2014 (66%) were affordable to all New York City households. In Suffolk County, while only 6% of sales in 2014 were affordable to NYC households earning up to $34,000, 16% of sales were affordable to NYC households earning up to $55,000, and 42% of sales were affordable to NYC households earning up to $83,000—higher percentages than any other geography in this study.

Published August 5, 2016

Full report available: NYU Furman Center / Citi Report on Homeownership & Opportunity in New York City (PDF)