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drkensaccount t1_j9q851t wrote

That explains why real estate is so pricey in Nassau County, but it doesn't explain Jersey City, which is a completely different market. The suburbs are full of people who buy a house because of the school district it's in and the low density. There are also lots more people who would buy/rent an apartment in that district (The whole "Slums of Beverly Hills" thing), which is what the NIMBY's out there are trying to stop. Kill the great student/teacher ratio and they're not such nice, suburban schools anymore. Build too many apartment buildings and it's not even the suburbs anymore. That's not such a concern in JC as people move here because of the high density and (obviously) not the school district. If somebody's not building here, it's because they've decided not to for now, they don't have the money, or because the JC gov't doesn't think multi-million dollar town-homes qualify as blight for eminent domain. I suggest bribing them. They're pretty corrupt.

Also, the Citizen's Budget Commission may be "nonpartisan", but that just means it's not affiliated with a particular political party. But, their chair is from SKDK, a media consulting firm that works with Democratic politicians, so not really that non-partisan. Also, their board is primarily made up of people from banks, real estate developers, and construction companies. In other words, people who have a vested financial interest in building more high-rises. So, take everything from them with a grain of salt.

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Blecher_onthe_Hudson OP t1_j9q90mf wrote

>That explains why real estate is so pricey in Nassau County, but it doesn't explain Jersey City, which is a completely different market.

Not at all. JC is only 250k in a metro of 20m. Squeeze the balloon in Manhattan and some people pop up in Maplewood or Manhasset but others pop up in JC or Brooklyn. Different segment of the same market.

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objectimpermanence t1_j9r1x0c wrote

>That explains why real estate is so pricey in Nassau County, but it doesn't explain Jersey City, which is a completely different market.

They are different markets, but they are still interconnected. Places like Jersey City are getting more expensive in part because places like Nassau County have essentially become exclusive enclaves with hardly any new construction compared to the post-WWII years, when new suburban houses were going up left and right on previously undeveloped land.

Today, large minimum lot size requirements and low-density zoning in NYC's suburbs mean that there is very little capacity for new development. People who would have bought starter homes in the suburbs 20 or 30 years ago are now finding themselves priced out. So younger affluent people are increasingly choosing to live in apartments in places like JC, which contributes to higher housing prices.

It doesn't help that we basically stopped expanding our public transit infrastructure in the middle of the 20th century. Which means that the cheaper, farther out areas are essentially off limits to people who want a reasonable commute to NYC.

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oekel t1_j9u74wl wrote

They’re not different markets, both are quite reasonable commutes to Manhattan. I live and work in Jersey City and have quite a few coworkers on Long Island. And a number of people move from Long Island to New Jersey (as a native Long Islander I know quite a few)

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