Brooklyn, New York is the country’s least affordable place to live, according to a new report from RealtyTrac released Thursday.
RealtyTrac’s report stated that there are 30 counties in the U.S. that are currently less affordable than their historical averages and also have rising foreclosure rates.
And number one on that list is Kings Country, New York, home to Brooklyn.
According to a report from Bloomberg, a Brooklyn resident making the city’s median income would need to devote 98% of their income to afford the payment on a median-priced home in Brooklyn, where the median home price is $615,000.
From the Bloomberg report:
In Brooklyn, the median sale price climbed to a record $587,515 in the third quarter, according to a report by appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate. Values in the borough, where almost 70% of residents rent, have been surging as wealthy New Yorkers priced out of Manhattan displace the poor.
And the rent is rising in Brooklyn as well. According to Miller Samuel and Douglas Elliman, the median rent in Brooklyn is $2,858, which is up 6% from last year.
For a look at the other counties where affordability is dropping, click here.
“While 99% of markets have not returned to the irrational affordability levels during the previous housing bubble, one in five markets have now exceeded their historical affordability norms, which is a strong sign that either a new home price bubble is forming in those markets or that home price appreciation will soon plateau until incomes can catch up,” Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac, said.
“Meanwhile, foreclosure rates on loans originated in 2014 are still significantly lower than for loans originated during the previous housing bubble in most markets, but there was an uptick in foreclosure rates on 2014 vintage loans compared to 2013 vintage loans in more than one-third of the counties we analyzed,” Blomquist continued. “This is concerning given that the 2014 loans are newer and have had less time to sour than loans originated in 2013.”
