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Report: NYC Housing Costs May Cool Off in 2016

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Apartment sales and rents may cool down just a little bit next year, StreetEasy predicts in its housing market trends report for 2016. The median sales price will grow by 2.2 percent in all of New York City in 2016 compared with 5.7 percent in 2015, and the median rent will increase by 3.2 percent, also down from the 4.2 percent growth in 2015, according to StreetEasy predictions. The Real Deal was the first to report on the report, which also examines the record-setting rents in Manhattan and Brooklyn, a competitive sales future for Upper Manhattan and the slowing growth in the luxury sales market.

Based on this prediction, the growth in rent prices will exceed that of sales prices, and StreetEasy predicts this is because of low rental vacancy and a cooling in the sales market. Among the five boroughs, the growth in sales numbers are set to take the highest dip in Queens, down 4.6 percent from 2015.

However the same can't be said for neighborhoods like Central Harlem, Hudson Heights, and Inwood where the median sales price is expected to grow by 10.2 percent, which is close to five times the city's overall growth rate.

Brooklyn too will see a growth in median sales and rental rates, but that however will put a further strain on Brooklyn residents. Residents of the borough will need to spend 65.7 percent of their income to afford median rent in the borough, which is up six percentage points from 2015, and is higher than the city's projected income-to-rent ratio of 65.4 percent.

This owes in large part to the dime-a-dozen luxury developments that are on the rise in the city, but prospective renters and buyers seem to be experiencing fatigues or empty pockets for that matter. Sales in luxury homes have been declining gradually since February 2015, and StreetEasy predicts more of the same next year.

But as always there are neighborhoods yet unexplored and yet to see massive waves of development, but StreetEasy has predictions for those too. A number of people will look to Jamaica, Queens, which has witnessed a population growth since 2011, more access to public transportation, and an increase in buyers. Jamaica, StreetEasy predicts will be the hottest new sales market for 2016 where there will be greatest percentage increase in demand for homes, followed by Coney Island in Brooklyn, and Pelham Parkway in the Bronx.

· StreetEasy Predicts 2016 New York City Housing Market Trends [StreetEasy]
· Queens will take off, prices will cool in 2016: StreetEasy [TRD]
· Market Reports Archive [Curbed]