NYC property vs. Suburb property appreciation (New York, Long Beach: real estate, apartments, rentals)

[nymaami]

Hello,

I am a first time home buyer and I live in a rented apartment in Long Beach, NY. I have now saved USD 450,000 for property purchase. I am now in the dilemma if I should go ahead and buy a studio in the city and rent it out. My justification is that, properties in the city have a steady and steep appreciation. Any comments.

[Viralmd]

450,000 will BARELY get you a condominium studio. BARELY. And unless it's a condominium, you'll have trouble being able to rent it.

[nymaami]

I came across this link and I found it encouraging : Manhattan (New York ), New York Real Estate - Sales, Rentals, Homes, Apartments, Open Houses, FSBO - New York Times (http://realestate.nytimes.com/sales/NY/MANHATTAN_County/MANHATTAN_County - broken link)

[Jrock247]

Don't count on property appreciating for the next couple of years.

[jeffcon0]

Your link is a bit botched up.
I would hesitate spending that kind of money on a studio apartment right now as they are one of the first types of properties to be affected by a housing downturn. With that said $450k will still get you a nice studio in a good manhattan neighborhood and possibly even a one bedroom in a desirable Brooklyn neighborhood. I would honestly wait a few months to see what happens to housing and the economy in general around here before jumping in. Many are expecting some very low interest rates by the summer when whatever financial relief package the fed and the govt decide on kicks in.

If you are planning to use them for rentals be very sure that whatever co-op or condo you are looking in allows them. My logic may be flawed here but you could split that up into 2 $225k downpayments and purchase two studios and let your tenants pay your carrying costs and end up with a bigger ROI. The rental market for studios will always be strong here but 1 bedrooms are definitly more desirable when it comes to purchasing.