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Upper middle class are not buying median-priced houses.
Exactly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by StephM
Upper middle class are not buying median-priced houses.
over your head, obviously...I'm trying to show that a home price of 800k is only within the reach of upper middle class and upper class earners, right? So stating the median price of homes further illustrates how far out of reach some of these areas are to the middle class at all. If other posters on here want to argue that 800k is affordable or doesn't exactly equate to being upper class, showing the median home price demonstrates how far out of touch they are...get it now?
And you are wrong, plenty of upper middle class earners are buying homes at median or slightly higher.
Actually no, the median home value just means that half the houses in Nassau County cost more than 397,000.
According to CD, the mean (or average) price for a detached house in Nassau was $606,588. While 800k is still above average, it still closer to average compared to the thousands multimillion dollar homes and hundreds of 10+ million dollar homes that surround them. There are 789 homes currently listed for more than $2 million on MLSLI, 23 of them listed for more than $10 million.
I also was only talking about LI and not going off track. Long Island's median home values are among the highest in the country. The median home value in the USA is $188,400 and in NYS it's $303,900. I brought in Manhattan because Nassau and Western Suffolk are a suburb of NYC. I'm showing you that in the city of which we are a suburb of 800k buys you a studio or junior 1 bedroom. Rich people don't live in studio apartments and junior 1 bedrooms.
I really enjoy your posts but surely this is a typo??
*
There is a difference between affording an $800K (and up) house and living in an $800K (and up) house. Will freely admit we fell into the latter category, but not the former.
Definitely a typo! Meant to say "thousands." Too late to fix. Completely agree about the difference between between affording an $800K (and up) house and living in an $800K
Upper middle class are not buying median-priced houses.
over your head, obviously...I'm trying to show that a home price of 800k is only within the reach of upper middle class and upper class earners, right? So stating the median price of homes further illustrates how far out of reach some of these areas are to the middle class at all. If other posters on here want to argue that 800k is affordable or doesn't exactly equate to being upper class, showing the median home price demonstrates how far out of touch they are...get it now? If the starting price is out of reach for middle class and upper middle class earners......who the heck lives there?
And you are wrong, plenty of upper middle class earners are buying homes at median or slightly higher.
We bought our home for around the same price as I've posted...but you can buy entry level here for 375, so I wouldn't consider it upper class, even though home prices go up to I think 1.5 million. Maybe upper middle. When you can't get much for under 800k, then yeah, I'd say you're in an upper class area. Anyone that disagrees must be out of their flipping mind.
AWW Stephie! Don't get mad! Merrick is a maybe upper middle class area...well...l'd say maybe somebody is out of touch.
You didn't answer my question. Do you see the difference between the pics of GIGANTIC MANSIONZ I posted and the ones of that yellow house that is similar to my parents? Is that yellow house an "upper" house with maids and butlers and paris hilton and wine cellars and wrapping paper rooms???? Is it, hmmmm?
Actually no, the median home value just means that half the houses in Nassau County cost more than 397,000.
According to CD, the mean (or average) price for a detached house in Nassau was $606,588. While 800k is still above average, it still closer to average compared to the thousands multimillion dollar homes and hundreds of 10+ million dollar homes that surround them. There are 789 homes currently listed for more than $2 million on MLSLI, 23 of them listed for more than $10 million.
I also was only talking about LI and not going off track. Long Island's median home values are among the highest in the country. The median home value in the USA is $188,400 and in NYS it's $303,900. I brought in Manhattan because Nassau and Western Suffolk are a suburb of NYC. I'm showing you that in the city of which we are a suburb of 800k buys you a studio or junior 1 bedroom. Rich people don't live in studio apartments and junior 1 bedrooms.
...........and I'm sure nearly everyone in the tristate area knows how expensive NYC is. Different areas command different prices, as I'm sure you understand. 800k buys you a megamansion in North Carolina, but that's not what we're talking about here. We aren't talking about the different income and home price levels for every part of the country, are we? If so, I must have missed that. We are talking about the differentiation between upper middle and upper class on LI here. We are talking about which towns are classified as upper, middle, or just plain middle class. I am saying that this board is an anomaly, because an 800k home with 20k a year in property taxes is out of year for many many people. To assert that an area that commands such a premium isn't and is slightly above average is intellectually dishonset.
We bought our home for around the same price as I've posted...but you can buy entry level here for 375, so I wouldn't consider it upper class, even though home prices go up to I think 1.5 million. Maybe upper middle. When you can't get much for under 800k, then yeah, I'd say you're in an upper class area. Anyone that disagrees must be out of their flipping mind.
Sorry, I disagree. I also don't appreciate being called out of my "flipping mind" for doing so, especially when I've presented a rational argument backed up with factual data, not just anecdotal evidence and assumptions.
Looking at the PCI, HHI, and median home values in different communities on LI suggests that there aren't many 250k households out there that are buying at the median price (the average maybe, but not the median). If anything it suggests that Long Islanders overspend on housing relative to income. 250k HHI is the base threshold I consider to be upper-middle class on LI for the reasons I have extensively gone into in this thread. You have to look at income as well as home values. If you look at the numbers I posted you can see that there's a big difference in income in communities that are usually uniformly blanked as "wealthy." If you want to believe people who live in $800k or even $1 million are "upper" go ahead. I won't say your "out of your flipping mind" but I will say your a bit naive about income levels and class structure in our area.
Quote:
Originally Posted by StephM
...........and I'm sure nearly everyone in the tristate area knows how expensive NYC is. Different areas command different prices, as I'm sure you understand. 800k buys you a megamansion in North Carolina, but that's not what we're talking about here. We aren't talking about the different income and home price levels for every part of the country, are we?
No, obviously we are talking about our area, of which NYC is a part. The numbers I have posted are all Nassau and Suffolk though. I'm sure you understand that people from North Carolina don't commute to Manhattan daily.
Quote:
If so, I must have missed that. We are talking about the differentiation between upper middle and upper class on LI here. We are talking about which towns are classified as upper, middle, or just plain middle class. I am saying that this board is an anomaly, because an 800k home with 20k a year in property taxes is out of year for many many people. To assert that an area that commands such a premium isn't and is slightly above average is intellectually dishonset.
You keep saying "many many people." How do you quantify "many many?" In Nassau County 7.8% of households live in homes valued at $1 million or more. That's 28,403 households. In Suffolk it's 19,282 (4.8%). That's almost 50,000 households! Average household size is in Suffolk is 2.93 and 2.94 in Nassau. That's approximately 139,717 people! That's many many people as far as I'm concerned.
NASSAU HOME VALUES * * * *
Owner-occupied units 363,366
Less than $50,000 3,215
0.9%
$50,000 to $99,999 3,268
0.9%
$100,000 to $149,999 3,485
1.0%
$150,000 to $199,999 5,029
1.4%
$200,000 to $299,999 16,097
4.4%
$300,000 to $499,999 162,740
44.8%
$500,000 to $999,999 141,129
38.8%
$1,000,000 or more 28,403
7.8%
Median (dollars) 487,900
(X)
SUFFOLK HOME VALUE * * * *
Owner-occupied units 403,093
Less than $50,000 4,771
1.2%
$50,000 to $99,999 4,618
1.1%
$100,000 to $149,999 5,154
1.3%
$150,000 to $199,999 8,998
2.2%
$200,000 to $299,999 44,740
11.1%
$300,000 to $499,999 205,109
50.9%
$500,000 to $999,999 110,421
27.4%
$1,000,000 or more 19,282
4.8%
Median (dollars) 424,200
(X)
Looking at these numbers 800k looks like high end middle of the road to me.
Sorry, I disagree. I also don't appreciate being called out of my "flipping mind" for doing so, especially when I've presented a rational argument backed up with factual data, not just anecdotal evidence and assumptions.
We will have to agree to disagree then. I still stand by my statement that a majority of LIers would find 800k to be a very high price to pay for a home. I think a random polling would illustrate that fact. I am skeptical of your "facts", but I will accept them as I'm done with this thread.
We will have to agree to disagree then. I still stand by my statement that a majority of LIers would find 800k to be a very high price to pay for a home. I think a random polling would illustrate that fact. I am skeptical of your "facts", but I will accept them as I'm done with this thread.
The majority of Long Islanders are middle class people though, not upper-middle class. Even if we can't agree on what the threshold HHI or net worth is to be considered "upper-middle class," we can probably agree that the majority of the population are "middle class;" that considerably smaller minorities are "upper-middle" and "lower-middle;" and that even smaller minorities are "rich" and "poor." Can we agree on that?
Remember, while the median price for a house in Nassau is $487,900 (not $397,000 as you mistakenly listed), the average is $606,588 for a detached single-family house. The majority of lower-middle class or working-poor people would find $600k to be a very high price to pay for a home. Can we agree on that too?
My facts come from the 2010 US Census, but you're welcome be skeptical of them (as you are welcome to be skeptical about the moon landing and who killed JFK).
My 2 cents on this unimportant issue: my wife's good friend married a guy that grew up in Bethesda. He had a very high paying job in Maryland and bought a house. The wife was envious of not being around family and friends on LI so she convinced him to move to New York. He again got a very high paying job and moved to NYC where he had a brand new apartment for $4600 a month rent. Further pressure and a new baby forced him to leave NYC to move LI where he rents a 2 bedroom for $3500. His wife searches for homes on MLSLi in her dream hometown. I spoke to him the other day and asked how the house hunt is going and he said to me " I would never buy an old house on LI for $600k that needs 100k in repairs and pay 20k in taxes". I believe LIers have a different perception of middle class than other parts of the country.
My 2 cents on this unimportant issue: my wife's good friend married a guy that grew up in Bethesda. He had a very high paying job in Maryland and bought a house. The wife was envious of not being around family and friends on LI so she convinced him to move to New York. He again got a very high paying job and moved to NYC where he had a brand new apartment for $4600 a month rent. Further pressure and a new baby forced him to leave NYC to move LI where he rents a 2 bedroom for $3500. His wife searches for homes on MLSLi in her dream hometown. I spoke to him the other day and asked how the house hunt is going and he said to me " I would never buy an old house on LI for $600k that needs 100k in repairs and pay 20k in taxes". I believe LIers have a different perception of middle class than other parts of the country.
Obviously, the wife needs to forget her "dream" hometown and they need to look in other communities. He needs to look at home ownership now based upon maximizing tax advantages. $42,000 is a lot of money to basically throw away each year to keep a roof over one's head.
$20,000 a year taxes on a $600,000 house needing work? I can only imagine what her dream hometown is.
"And you are wrong, plenty of upper middle class earners are buying homes at median or slightly higher"
With all due respect, you are nuts. Remove the "upper" perhaps.
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