Bucks Blog: In Some Areas, Home Ownership Is Still Out of Reach

The housing market may have crashed in many parts of the country, but there is still a contingent of would-be buyers living an alternate reality. They make a decent living, they save, but it’s still not enough to break into the gated communities formerly known as New York, Los Angeles and Boston.

In these metropolitan areas and their outskirts, pricing is likely to end up higher, relative to local income, than it was before the housing bubble, according to Fiserv Case-Shiller.

So in Wednesday’s special section, I profiled Steve and Logan Kinney, both 27-year-old public school teachers, who have lived through the frustrations of trying to buy in New York City. The couple got married two years ago and want to complete their American dream by buying a modest home not too far from where they work. They also want to start a family.

But a budget of $250,000 doesn’t go very far in the city. And even if they could find something they could responsibly afford, they would need to come up with at least $60,00 –  if they want to make a 20 percent down payment and keep some money in the bank after they close.

Earlier this morning, I received an e-mail from another young couple looking to buy their first home in Brooklyn. They had just learned that their offer on a $485,000 apartment, which was initially accepted, had fallen through; the seller received an all cash offer. The first offer they made, on another apartment, was lost to another buyer putting down 50 percent in cash.

Have you tried to buy in any of these still seemingly frothy areas? Please share your experiences in the comment section below.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=4da9385c82f8a15b1d4ca8b1c6a45763