In NYC, two-bedrooms under $1M are a rare commodity

One of the many reasons why fewer homes are being purchased while affordability continues to disappear

Unless you are exceedingly wealthy, buying a home in New York City is no easy feat and for the bulk of New Yorkers, homeownership simply isn't an option. The number of obstacles that make it difficult are many and well ranged from home flipping threatening the few affordable neighborhoods that remain left to a new federal tax overhaul that has created unease, resulting in fewer home purchases. But another major factor is the shortage of affordable homes for sale that would be accessible to the majority of potential buyers.

In a new report, StreetEasy takes a look at the total number of sales over the past five years, as well as the number of two-bedrooms listed on its site for less than $1 million over the same period of time. What it found was that there has been an overall five-year pattern of falling sales, which predates any concerns over interest rates or new tax code changes, meaning there was another driving force behind the decline in purchases.

However, what StreetEasy did determine was that the "likely culprit for the fall in sales volume is the gradual disappearance of affordable homes throughout the five boroughs, including in many areas that traditionally drew professionals seeking a larger home in which to raise a family."

StreetEasy.

Per the report, the share of two-bedroom apartments listed for less than $1 million on StreetEasy has decreased by more than 50 percent between 2010 and 2017 in 32 neighborhoods. Meanwhile, the city's average housing prices have skyrocketed and more high-price luxury homes spending more time on the market.

Neighborhoods like Park Slope, Carrol Gardens, Long Island City, and the Upper West Side have seen some of the sharpest declines in its inventory of six-digit two-bedroom listings. For example: In 2010, 93 percent of all two-bedroom listings in Park Slope on StreetEasy were asking under a million bucks, compared with just 41 percent in 2017. In Long Island City, 80 percent of two-bedrooms were priced below $1 million in 2010—in 2017 the number dropped to just 12 percent.

Catch the full report here.

• Why NYC Is Selling Fewer Homes: It's All About Affordability [StreetEasy]