Re: this morning on the news- edited with Article..

Posted by Tumbalina

I wonder if alot of young couples who bu,y can make it on one salary if one of them loses their job.

Re: this morning on the news- edited with Article..

Hmmm, that doesn't sound right. A couple making 100,000 should be able to afford a house under 400,000

Re: this morning on the news- edited with Article..

One of the most alarming things about this study was that in 2000, 60% of people could afford a LI house making $100,000. In 6 years, it has dropped to 2%.... something needs to be done, thats a staggering figure.

Re: this morning on the news- edited with Article..

These statistics are very difficult to analyze. The writer of the article is limited by how many words he is allowed for his piece which would make it inconvenient to tell his readers how he is coming up with his numbers. Specifically, how accurate are the average income numbers. How and from where are these numbers being obtained? That is why a more comprehensive study is needed to make a real assessment of exactly where we are heading.

Nonetheless, some facts are irrefutable. One being the appreciation rate of homes in Long Island and to some extend the average percentage rise in incomes. For one, there is excellent historical statistics kept on the sales price of homes, which would tell us the appreciation rates of homes in LI. An increase of 50%-65% over the last 5 years would be a conservative estimate. And most of us are very well aware that a company will put a ceiling on how much we make from year to year. In most cases your company will be willing to give a 3%-5% pay increase. Of course there will be exceptions to the average raise of some individuals, but in general those experiencing a good pay increase will be drowned by the majority and prevent the statistic from being skewed.

Just looking at these numbers on the surface one can easily concluded that homes on LI have become unaffordable to most regular earners, except those with considerable income gains. If your salary doubled over the last 5 years or if you bought a house 5 years ago, then you are one of the lucky ones.

I agree with the writer that there are less families able to afford housing on LI and although I may be in the group that can actually afford a home my concern is somewhat different. If I buy a house and decided to sell in a few years (say 5), would there be a market to sell it into? Will the correction or stagnation take place in the next five years leaving me with a home that will see very little or no appreciation? By the time these questions can be answered, I would have paid over $160,000 in interest and taxes alone, all of it deductible of course, but still a substantial amount.