It turns out that haute New Yorkers have to dig deeper into their pocketbooks than other rich individuals across the country. According the real-estate website Trulia, which examined home owner association fees for the top 10% of homes on the market, the median fee in NYC is $1,566 a month compared to much cheaper rates in other wealthy areas. In fact, The HOA fees in NYC are 2.5 times higher than the national median. Miami ($1,407), Long Island, N.Y. ($1,218), San Francisco ($931) and Boston ($920) round out the five metro areas with the highest dues.
“New York, Miami and Long Island have a larger proportion of luxury properties than other cities,” says Ralph McLaughlin, Trulia’s housing economist. “Luxury properties tend to have a lot more services associated with higher HOA fees than non-luxury apartments.”
In wealthy developments and neighborhoods, HOA fees cover the cost of staff and maintenance of common areas, as well as the upkeep of amenities like pools and clubhouses. Unfortunately, exorbitantly high HOA fees make properties harder to sell to new buyers. Those in the market for a new home should be wary of unnaturally steep HOA fees, because they tend to signal that the homeowner’s association is trying to pay off a costly repair, or are lining their pockets with extra money for frivolous additions.
(Via Wall Street Journal)
