L.A. Now the US's Most Unaffordable Place to Rent or Buy

[HorseTears]

Ugh.




"..every day, there's some new study that tells us how unaffordable LA's rental market is, or how outstandingly expensive housing is here, but today, we have a study that says both.."

[SNAFU]

I think if they didn't include Northern NJ into New York City and kept it to the five Bouroughs NYC would be a lot more expensive then they are reporting.

[HorseTears]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that even if you discounted Northern NJ, LA would still be less affordable by these standards. This (and some other well publicized recent studies, like the one out of UCLA) aren't claiming that the average rent is higher in LA than it is in NY or SF, but that when you compare the median income in the area with the median rent, an Angeleno has to pay a greater percentage of his income toward his rent than someone in NY or SF. Right now someone earning the median income in LA has to dedicate nearly 48% of his take-home pay to rent. Can you find plenty of people in NY and SF who have to do the same or worse? Of course, but there a lot more people in that situation in LA. And that's obviously because there are more low wage jobs in LA. Unfortunately, virtually all new construction in LA is luxury condos and lofts.

[Jordan Catalano]

Here's a really interesting and really depressing NY Times article from this weekend about Brooklyn.


Link

[SNAFU]

The new construction here in Brooklyn are all luxery condos and lofts, some advertizing: Condos starting at $2 million! I have no idea who are the people able to afford these things.

OK according to the2000-2012 US Census: LA is the most expensive place to live. ownership median is almost double that of LA. NYC's median household income is higher then that of LA.

[Jane2]

I'm surprised at how many wealthy people there are. On one of those Sunday morning news shows, there was a piece about the current real estate market in NYC. There's a high demand for very high end penthouses and apartments that must be designed by top name architects. They said it was started with those two monstrosities (my description) down here on Perry and the water designed by Richard Meier.

Mentioned were some penthouses that were going for such high amounts that they wouldn't mention them on the air. The Woolworth building was one of them. There is one 5 level penthouse with the gold cupola that may have been the Woolworth bldg. but I forget.

The middle class truly is being squeezed out of NY.

[Jordan Catalano]

That's why I've seriously been considering leaving NY next year.

[SNAFU]

When I moved my studio to DUMBO from The Bowery 12 years ago (the Bowery had suddenly transformed into Lolita, Lower Little Italy) and prices soared, DUMBO was a very scary place. Cab drivers wouldn't drive there. There were no stores. The streets rolled up at 6PM at night.
Things changed really quickly. DUMBO had a thriving Artist community and people were drawn to it. When the housing crisis hit, a lot of French and English flocked there to purchase a vacation place when the US dollar exchange rate was 2:1. Now DUMBO is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the city to live, Right around the corner from me they are constructing a small 5 unit Condo. Ugly as hell but each of the 5 units are aready sold for $4 million a piece!

[Jane2]

If I weren't at my advanced age, and if I didn't have so many friends here (most of them within a block or two of me), and if I didn't have a fabulous apartment in the most desirable location in NYC, and some sort of "life," I'd definitely move away. I'd love to live in a much quieter location, with much more space, and that means almost anywhere but here.

[javero]

I'm still amazed by the number of colleagues of mine who retire, then pull up stakes and relocate to parts of the Old South that you couldn't pay me to relocate to, for a number of reasons.

Despite the ills that plague places like L.A., NYC, and DC Metro, people still gravitate towards them for the job opportunities and inclusiveness that they offer. Sometimes it's about finding one's tribe. Life seems to be full of trade-offs.

[Jordan Catalano]

What's wrong with the South?

[javero]

"What's wrong with the South?"

Grew up there and still travel extensively throughout. I'd have to be very selective about where I'd resettle there. Let me put this as delicately as possible...there are still many parts where I would never take my black azz to live or start a business. I have no time for apartheid housing practices and forced segregation in 2014. FL is a bit of an anomaly though.

[Mr Roxy]

Come on NY. Get with the program. We need to be # 1

[Everlast85]

Florida is horrible. It has the most f*cked up gun laws, overturned the gay adoption ban JUST four years ago, has people like Casey Anthony and George Zimmerman, and is just really awful in general. I grew up there and... yikes.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/the-101-most-insane-things-that-have-ever-happened-in-florid

Stupidest State