How Much Money Do You Need To Make To Buy In Manhattan?

NEW YORK CITY – Those who want to buy an apartment in Manhattan should look for a job (or a partner) who makes at least $308,449, according to a new report from online real estate marketplace StreetEasy, which is owned by Zillow.

Where did they get that number?

StreetEasy took median asking prices for the entire market from listings as of July 2024, which captures the prices many buyers are likely to encounter as they shop for a home.

The company then calculated how much money some unfortunate person must earn in order to ensure that their monthly mortgage payments stay below 30% of their total income, based on putting down 20% of the home's price upfront (!) and paying the rest with a 30-year mortgage at a 6.5% interest rate, which was the average in August 2024, according to the company.

Let’s dig into those numbers.

On the Upper East Side and Upper West Side, which reportedly had the most new listings between May and July, the median asking price was $1.325 million and $1.495 million, respectively.

That means a 20% down payment in either neighborhood – for a typical listing – is more than $250,000.

In more affordable neighborhoods, like Midtown East or Central Harlem – where median asking prices were $850,000 and $899,000, respectively – a 20% down payment would still set you back more than $150,000.

To be clear, median asking price refers to the middle price of homes or apartments that are currently for sale, meaning that if you line up all the prices from the lowest to the highest, the median is the price right in the middle.

It’s related to another relevant measure: median household income.

In 2022, the median household income in Manhattan was $95,866, according to the Census Bureau.

In other words, half of households earn more than this amount, and half earn less. Put another way, as of 2022, at least half of all Manhattan households earned less than $95,866. Recall that to afford a typical home in Manhattan, you must make at least $308,449.

At the end of August, Patch wrote about the Mediterranean villa you could afford for the price of a 500-square-foot Manhattan condo.

Are you in the market in Manhattan? Want to share your thoughts with Patch? Email [email protected].