Thursday, February 02, 2012

Today, On "The Rich Get Richer"

 
Real estate values in New York City dropped like a stone last year, as wave upon wave of foreclosures struck the city like a tsunami. The prices of single family homes, generally in the outer boroughs, were deeply impacted.
 
Commensurate with foreclosured properties and other economically distressed housing, building code violations jumped 14%, and not just in the foreclosed homes, but in properties within 250 feet of them.
 
In NYC, that would generally be the next three homes on either side of the property, plus parcels directly across the streets and properties abutting those. So you're talking about ten other houses.
 
This means, not only are more properties in foreclosure, but there are other adjacent properties where owners are in deep trouble and cannot afford maintenance, and some who have simply given up trying to maintain homes in neighborhoods that are by and large, becoming vacated.