should i rent a 2br in nyc instead of buying one?

Never buy for less than a 7-10 year horizon.

4 minutes ago
report abuse Guy/Gals it's not just the wallstreet bonuses that are going to drive the market down. Credit as we know it has change for this generation. The market was fueled in the past years by people who should of never been able to get loans. And yes I even mean people in NYC. Have we forgotten how many people were allowed to lie about their incomes and put 5% down and get interest only loans. I think that people are ignoring the fundamentals. You are talking about a market that has been artificially inflated throughout the world by people who should of never been given billions of dollars in the first place. Going forward the demand will be significantly less. Its the lack of credit that will drive the NYC real estate market down. The average price of a condo in Manhattan is $1.3M. That means your 20% down is $260,000. You need to quafify for a loan just over $1M. Its these loan that doen't exists any more without an income that supports that monthly payment.At 6% that $6,000 month and if add the CC could be as much as $7500-8000 a month. Thats just to have a roof over your head. Now factor all your other bills and you see why the banks have just about closed the books. At $8,000 a month you are looking at $98,000 a year and you haven't even eaten yet. You have to undestand the psychie of the bank CEO's. They have just about all been replaced by new guys and the last thing they are going to do is loan money. This is what's going to drive the real estate market down. Don't ignore the signs and think that this is just going to blow over. Remember waiting means nothing. Buying now could mean the lose of hundreds of thousands in the next few months. Just my analysis. Sorry if it not what you want to hear but it's the truth. YES RENT..........Please do your sef the favor and save lots of money in the future.

This is instructive, from Bloomberg today:

Finance jobs drive the Manhattan market. The median apartment price has roughly tracked Wall Street bonus income since 1997, according to Miller. Employment at investment banks accounted for almost 15 percent of the city's total privately paid wages in the first quarter of 2006, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

And where are those bonuses now?

The beginning of the end.

If you have cash you are going to be in the driver's seat in the net 6-18 months. You will be able to get 2 Beds for the price of one and 3 bed for the price of three. If you have any left over you will get a house in the Hamptons for 30% less that today. Just be patient.

3 bed for the price of 2-sorry

and what about one bedroom apartment?

julia- Hold on and you will get those for the same price of a studio. Oh julia something tells me you knew that already.lol

er1to9, I agree the time horizon has to be very long, especially if you're considering new construction (high transaction costs and higher carrying costs for your eventual buyer as tax abatement winds down).

I also think the risk of waiting and seeing the market shift away from buyers right now is minimal-to-nonexistent, whereas the risk of buying now and seeing prices drop is very high.

thx. how much money should a 2 bedroom rent for ?

Well, that would depend on location, size, condition, etc. Do you need a doorman?