You Need to Earn More Than $200,000 a Year to Buy in New York City

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Most New Yorkers dream of an in-unit washer and dryer in their rental, more closet space, or a second bathroom. Home ownership? Not so much. Last year, you had to have an annual household income of $222,595 to afford a median-priced home in New York City. But what about this year, considering the recent decline in mortgage rates? Surely, you might be pleading, things have gotten a little bit better? Yes, the good news is now you only have to make $211,970 to afford a median-priced home, according to a new StreetEasy report. Get out the Champagne.

This number is even worse than it looks. The StreetEasy report assumes you’ve got the 20 percent down payment already handled. Since the median asking price for a home is now $1.05 million (three times the national average), that’s about $210,000 in spare cash. Your $200,000-plus income is just to keep your monthly mortgage payments within 30 percent of your gross income. (And the city’s down-payment assistance plan has income limits that are much lower than that.) If you want to live in Manhattan, the minimum income is even higher: $308,449.

Not surprisingly, only 15 percent of households in the city make that $211,000 — basically, you (and maybe your partner, too) have to be a well-paid doctor, CEO, or public-relations manager, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics survey of the metropolitan area. Even to afford the cheapest homes — in the lowest third of what’s available citywide — one has to make at least $94,861, which is more than, say, the average dental hygienist or teacher makes. So if you were cutting down on your coffee orders to save up for a home, maybe just go ahead and buy that $8 matcha latte. It might take you decades.