Staten Island: New York - Or Not?

Anyone looking into residential real estate on Staten Island should probably take

a brief look at some local history in order to understand some peculiarities of the market, which are peculiar to that place and found almost nowhere else throughout the City of New York, certainly not to such a degree. Indeed, it's so unusual that like nothing else it can seem to lend credence to the borough's periodic secessionist movements!

The Borough of Staten Island is coextensive with Richmond County, though until 1975 the place was also referred to as the Borough of Richmond. Staten Island is the name given by Henry Hudson in honor of the Dutch parliament, the States-General of the Netherlands, under whose flag his explorations were being financed. The inhabitants themselves often refer to it as The Forgotten Borough, after the belief that the city government neglects them.

For example, controversy has long surrounded the Fresh Kills landfill, which was opened in 1947 as a temporary depository for city trash. Borough residents have often complained over the smell emanating from the landfill throughout the decades. It remained in use all the way until 2001, only to reopen later that year to receive Ground Zero debris from the September 11th attack. However, in the 21st Century this former landfill will become a city park even larger than Central Park.

Such a development, already in progress, should make the surrounding area hot residential property. It is already host to many commercial enterprises, not the least of which is the Staten Island Mall on its east side. Boroughwide, two hundred and forty-five dollars is the going price for every square foot, which represents a decrease of five percent. The median home price in the three-month period between September 2009 and November 2009 was three hundred and seventy thousand dollars, with nine hundred and fifty-five homes sold during that time. Compare that to the same period a year ago in 2008 when prices were over six percent, or twenty-five thousand dollars higher, and it's clear that the market is declining, particularly when considering that the number of actual sales is down two percent.

Indeed, the average listing price for housing on Staten Island was well over four hundred and fifty-five thousand dollars for the week ending February 10, 2010. That turns out to be a decrease of almost five whole percentage points, or well over twenty-three and a half thousand dollars, when compared against the previous week. However, the more desirable neighborhoods posted much better prices, such as six hundred seventy-three thousand and eight hundred and eight dollars for Tottenville.

by: Barbra Miller

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