New York Housing Market: Home Prices, Rent and Affordability
The typical New York home is worth $526,714, up 5.6% over the past year and up 29.5% over five years, 42.9% above the national $368,697 (latest release). That ranks #8 of 50 on price. A 20%-down mortgage runs $2,710 a month and takes about $140,709 of income; the median New York household earns $85,820, $54,889 short.
In New York, the state's largest metro, typical rent is $3,615 a month against a $3,782 principal-and-interest payment on the typical home, so renting is $167 a month cheaper before taxes, insurance and maintenance. The market is warm: 17.3% of listings cut their price (national 26.4%), homes go pending in 51 days (national 53), and for-sale inventory is up 1.9% from a year ago.
All housing figures are the latest published numbers for August; median household income is from the Census Bureau.
New York Housing by the Numbers
How much does a house cost in New York? The typical home is worth $526,714, the median sale price is $529,000 and the median list price $624,000. The six figures below describe the market this month, each with the national comparison.
- Typical home
- $526,714
- #8 priciest · national $369K
- Mortgage payment
- $2,710/mo
- P&I, 20% down · national $1,897
- Income needed
- $141K
- median earns $86K (+64%)
- Rent, New York
- $3,615/mo
- +4.2% in 1 yr · national $1,948
- Price cuts
- 17.3%
- of listings · national 26.4%
- Days to pending
- 51
- national 53 · 49,891 for sale (+1.9%)
How Have New York Home Prices Changed?
The typical New York home value every month since 2000, with the national typical home as a dashed line. Values rose 5.6% over the past year, are up 29.5% over five years, up 80.5% over ten, and up 244% since January 2000.
- Peak
- $526,714
- This month (all-time high)
- 10-year change
- +80.5%
- national +77.9%
- Median sale price
- $529,000
- list price $624,000
- Payment, 1-yr change
- +6.4%
- Rates and prices combined
Is It Cheaper to Rent or Buy in New York?
Two direct answers from the data. Rent versus buy sets typical asking rent in New York, the state's largest metro, against the mortgage payment on the typical home there, since rent indexes are published by metro rather than by state. The affordability gap is the income needed to buy the typical New York home minus what the median household actually earns.
Rent vs. buy · New York, NY
Renting is $167/month cheaper
The payment excludes property tax (1.64% of value in New York), insurance and maintenance, all of which push the cost of owning higher; renting builds no equity. If values kept rising at the past five years' pace (29.5%), equity would narrow that gap over a long stay.
Affordability gap · #46 of 50
The median household is $54,889 short of the income needed
A $2,710 monthly payment takes 37.9% of the median New York household's income before property tax and insurance; lenders generally cap total housing costs near 28–31%.
Full budget for your household →Is New York a Buyer's or a Seller's Market?
Market temperature is our label from three market signals compared with the national market: the share of listings with a price cut, days from listing to pending (days on market), and whether homes for sale are up from a year ago. New York is warm: it slightly favors sellers: one of the three market signals points cooler than the national market.
Median sale price $529,000 against a median list price of $624,000, so the typical home closes 15.2% below asking.
Where the New York market is heading
Compared with a year ago, all three signals point looser, in buyers' favor: the share of listings with a price cut is up 1.1 points from a year ago to 17.3%, homes take 2 days longer to go pending than a year ago (51 now), and the number of homes for sale is up 1.9%. The typical home value rose 5.6% over the same period and is at an all-time high. We publish no forecasts: these are the current-month readings, not a prediction of where New York home prices go next.
Home Values and Rents in New York Cities
A city-level home value or rent is available for 16 of the New York cities we track. The most expensive is New Rochelle ($948,709) and the cheapest Niagara Falls ($173,844). Click a city for its full profile.
| City | Population | Home value | 1 yr | 5 yr | Rent | Rent 1 yr | Value ÷ income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 8,483,844 | $822,517 | +4.2% | ||||
| Buffalo | 276,854 | $248,828 | +2.9% | ||||
| Yonkers | 209,978 | $706,055 | +7.0% | ||||
| Rochester | 208,772 | $247,040 | +4.6% | ||||
| Syracuse | 146,384 | $224,508 | +5.4% | ||||
| Albany | 100,492 | $332,657 | +4.2% | ||||
| New Rochelle | 82,769 | $948,709 | +7.7% | ||||
| Mount Vernon | 72,427 | $601,432 | +4.4% | ||||
| Schenectady | 68,847 | $333,482 | +5.3% | ||||
| Utica | 64,217 | $212,423 | +7.0% | ||||
| White Plains | 60,666 | $808,180 | +5.8% | ||||
| Hempstead | 58,801 | $646,638 | +4.1% | ||||
| Levittown | 51,904 | $737,380 | +4.2% | ||||
| Troy | 51,033 | $300,987 | +5.0% | ||||
| Niagara Falls | 47,987 | $173,844 | +5.4% | ||||
| Binghamton | 47,151 | $192,215 | +5.0% |
Home value and rent are city-level indexes; population and median household income are Census ACS. Cities without a published index are omitted.
All New York cities ranked →How New York Compares With Nearby States
The Northeast states closest to New York on price. Each card links to that state's housing page; the compare link puts the two states side by side on every category.
More on New York
New York dashboard
Overall rank and grade, every category score, taxes, utilities, safety, schools and all tracked cities.
What you'd keep in New York
Take-home after housing, taxes, childcare, utilities and groceries for your household and income.
Who is moving to New York
IRS migration data: where new residents come from, where leavers go, and what both groups earn.
New York Housing Market FAQ
What is the average house price in New York?
$526,714 is the typical New York home value according to the latest release of the home value index, which tracks homes in the middle third of the market. The median sale price was $529,000 and the median list price $624,000. That makes New York the #8 most expensive state; the national typical home is worth $368,697.
Are home prices dropping in New York?
No. The typical New York home value rose 5.6% over the past year and is at an all-time high. Over five years it is up 29.5% and over ten years up 80.5%. Nationally, values rose 1.2% over the year.
How have New York home prices changed over the past 1, 5 and 10 years?
+5.6% over one year, +29.5% over five years and +80.5% over ten years for the typical New York home value, per the latest release; the national figures are +1.2%, +20.3% and +77.9%. Since January 2000 the typical New York home is up 244%. The monthly chart above shows the full series against the national line.
Will the New York housing market crash?
We publish no forecasts, so this page cannot answer that; it can show the current readings and the historical worst case. Right now the typical New York home value is at an all-time high after it rose 5.6% over the past year; 17.3% of listings have cut their price (national 26.4%), homes go pending in 51 days (national 53), and inventory is up 1.9% from a year ago, per Zillow Research. The largest decline in the monthly value series for New York was 11.4% from January 2008 to February 2012, and values took 47 months to regain that peak.
Is it a good time to buy a house in New York?
The New York market is warm right now, which means it slightly favors sellers: one of the three market signals points cooler than the national market. 17.3% of listings cut their price (national 26.4%), homes go pending in 51 days (national 53), and for-sale inventory is up 1.9% from a year ago. Affordability is the constraint: buying the typical home takes $140,709 of income, $54,889 more than the median household earns. Whether the timing is right also depends on mortgage rates and how long you plan to stay.
Is New York a buyer's or seller's market?
New York leans toward sellers. Fewer listings are cutting prices than the national average (17.3% vs. 26.4%), homes take 51 days to go pending (national 53), and the number of homes for sale is up 1.9% from a year ago at 50K listings. One of those three signals points toward buyers.
What is the average rent in New York?
In New York, New York's largest metro, the typical asking rent is $3,615 a month, up 4.2% over the past year and up 37.1% over five years, per the rent index. The national typical rent is $1,948. Among New York cities we track, rents range from $1,227 to $4,154 a month.
Is it cheaper to rent or buy in New York?
Renting is cheaper month to month in New York, New York's largest metro. Typical rent is $3,615 and the principal-and-interest payment on the typical home with 20% down is $3,782, a difference of $167 a month in favor of renting. The payment excludes property tax (1.64% of value in New York), insurance and maintenance, and renting builds no equity, so the full answer depends on how long you stay.
How much income do you need to buy a house in New York?
About $140,709 a year, using the standard assumptions of 20% down at current mortgage rates and a payment of no more than 30% of income. The median New York household earns $85,820, so the typical household is $54,889 short. That is the #46 smallest affordability gap of the 50 states. The monthly payment of $2,710 equals 37.9% of the median household's income.
Where are homes cheapest and most expensive in New York?
Among the New York cities we track with a published home value, the most expensive typical home is in New Rochelle ($948,709) and the cheapest in Niagara Falls ($173,844). Also at the top: New York ($822,517), White Plains ($808,180), and Levittown ($737,380). The city table above lists every tracked New York city with its value, one-year change and rent.
How does New York compare with nearby states?
In the Northeast, the closest comparisons on price are New Hampshire ($516,306, up 2.9% in a year), Rhode Island ($511,233, up 3.4% in a year), and New Jersey ($580,353, up 3.9% in a year). New York's typical home is $526,714, up 5.6%. On affordability, New York ranks #46 of 50 versus New Hampshire at #32, Rhode Island at #47, and New Jersey at #45.
How current is the New York housing data?
Every figure on this page comes from Zillow Research, which publishes state, metro and city data free each month for the prior month; the latest month shown is August. Median household income is from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. We rebuild the page from the newest Zillow files as they are released.
Home values, rents, mortgage payments, income needed, inventory, price cuts, days to pending and sale and list prices are published by Zillow Research and shown as released, with attribution. Median household income and city populations are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. Home prices and housing markets in all 50 states →