NY-area rents are not as high as one might think

Grumble, if you will, about high rents and warren-like apartments. Just be glad you don’t live in San Jose.

It may be little comfort, but the New York metropolitan area is not home—as a renter might think—to the highest rents in the country. That distinction goes to the San Jose metro area in northern California, where gross median rents cost $1,414, making it the most expensive in the country. San Francisco came in second, followed by the Washington, D.C., area, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2009 American Community Survey released Tuesday.

The New York metro area, which includes northern New Jersey and Long Island, was sixth. Median gross rent was $1,125 a month. The median rent in the city alone was $1,086.

Let’s return to Menlo Park, where burbed reader Herve has another terrific find for us.  Fortunately, this one is on the Right Side of 101 and won’t cost you much more than the Wrong Side.

316 Yale Rd  Menlo Park, CA 94025
$1,445,000

Beds: 4
Baths: 2
Sq. Ft.: 1,720
$/Sq. Ft.: $840
Lot Size: 7,500 Sq. Ft.
Property Type: Detached Single Family
Style: Cottage/Bungalow
Stories: 1
View: Neighborhood
Year Built: 1939
Community: Allied Arts/Downtown
County: San Mateo
MLS#: 81008340
Source: MLSListings
Status: Active
On Redfin: 214 days

HUGE PRICE REDUCTION! Prime Allied Arts property. Great opportunity to remodel, or start fresh. Close to many schools, Walking distance to downtown Menlo Park, Stanford University and downtown Palo Alto. Nestled in the most prestigious Allied Arts neighborhood, directly and centrally located to ???EVERYTHING that is Menlo Park at its FINEST???.

Other than the bizarre last sentence, as agent copy goes this is reasonably literate.  There’s proper use of nouns, verbs, adjectives, punctuation, and the full range of capitals and miniscules.  So what’s the mystery about this house?  For $1.45 million, shouldn’t we get a few pictures inside?

The problem is the street name.   Not just anybody can show up and demand admission.  You have to fill out a lengthy application with letters of reference, transcripts, and overwrought personal essays.  A substantial bribe donation to the Development Department seller can work wonders.  Then, perhaps, you might earn a spot inside.

Then again, maybe listing a house on Yale near College, a block from University, has given the agent some foolish ideas.  Perhaps that marketing strategy doesn’t work as well for a house as it does for an Ivy League school.  The results speak for themselves: 214 days on Redfin.

Hint: To market the house as if it’s a top school, the price should be going up.