Housing is so expensive in New York that a quarter of all households pay more than half of their income in rent, a new U.S. Census Bureau study says.
One reason for the high rents is limited supply – the city’s rental vacancy rate was just 2.94 percent last year. That compares with a nationwide rental vacancy rate at the end of 2002 of 9.4 percent.
The Census Bureau’s Housing and Vacancy Survey takes a close look at the city’s rental and home ownership situation every three years.
New York’s 2.94 percent vacancy rate is well below the 5 percent required by law to maintain rent controls here – and below the 3.19 percent measured in 1999.
But city officials cautioned against comparing the 2002 and 1999 figures until the data is finalized.
In other findings:
* The homeowner rate stood at 32.7 percent, led by Staten Island, where 65 percent of residents own.
* The median gross monthly rent, which excludes tenant payments for utilities, was $706.
* Housing conditions overall were the best since 1965. Just a half-percent of all occupied units were reported in dilapidated condition.
* Crowding remained a serious problem, with 11.1 percent of households reporting more than one person per room.
* The proportion of renter households with incomes below the poverty level in 2001 was 22.5 percent. During 2002, only 61,265 of 2.08 million apartments citywide had “for rent” signs posted.
If you’ve got an apartment in Queens, consider yourself lucky – the rental situation there was downright scary, with just 7,658 vacancies, or 1.78 percent of the apartment stock.
“The impact of immigration and demographics is probably more pronounced in Queens than any other borough,” said Carol Abrams, spokeswoman for the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
By contrast, Manhattan had 22,389 units up for grabs, or 3.86 percent.
Of course, the cheapest apartments were also the most in demand.
Looking for nice digs under $699? Unless your uncle’s a landlord, you might want to consider a roommate. The vacancy rate for units in that range was just 1.4 percent.
If you’ve got money, you have better housing choices. In the $2,000-and-up category, the vacancy rate hovered at 10 percent.
City officials said they were heartened that the total number of housing units was 3.2 million – the most since the survey began in 1965.
FULL HOUSE:
Citywide Vacancy Rate – 2.94%
Manhattan – 3.86%
Queens – 1.78%
Bronx – 3.29%
Brooklyn – 2.73%
Staten Island – not measured
Total Stock – 3,209,000 units
Rentals – 2,085,000
Vacancy rate for units renting for $500 or less – 1.94%
Vacancy rate for units renting for $2000 or more – 10%
Source: NYC Dept. of Housing, Preservation & Development