Submitted by dapianoguy t3_121bcrk in newhaven
I will be moving to New Haven in just over a year and am wondering where are some safe, nice neighborhoods I can think about possibly purchasing a home? I’ll be commuting to Yale for work and my salary will be around $75K.
This is actually my first job after schooling, so I’m not totally sure about my answers. However, i will be living with one partner so it’ll be the two of us. I’ll definitely take some time to think about what other costs may be! I also appreciate any insight.
If you’re moving with a partner, maybe rent first? Is this the first time you’re living together?
Beaver Hills is the best bang for your buck. Only problem is that it’s gotten expensive the past few years, there’s very little inventory, and it’s hard not to get outbid by large landlords. But that’s pretty much every neighborhood in New Haven these days.
East Rock and Wooster Square are always recommended, and both are quite lovely but also very expensive, although you might be able to find an affordable-ish condo. Westville is also very nice but still pretty expensive. Fairhaven and Fairhaven Heights along the Quinnipiac River is nice, more affordable, very old houses. Edgewood can be hit or miss, but I would still consider it. Morris Cove / East Shore is affordable, safe, and by the water, but it’s a little isolated from the rest of New Haven. It’s also where the expanding Tweed Airport is located, and there are more homes available there than other neighborhoods because of the airport. Amity (by Westville) is affordable. Downtown is mostly expensive condos but it’s convenient and extremely walkable.
I would avoid: Newhallville, The Hill (except City Point area), West Rock. I’d be cautious about Dixwell, Dwight, West River, The Annex.
In neighboring town of Hamden, Whitneyville is safe and not too expensive.
I highly recommend checking out the CT First Time Homebuyer Program. Even if you’ve owned before, a lot of the rules are different for New Haven, because the city is like 70% renters and they want to increase homeownership. Don’t sleep on that Yale home ownership money either.
Thank you so much for the insight! I’ll take a deep dive into the neighborhoods you listed. If I were okay with up to a 30 minute commute, do you have any recommendations for other neighborhoods outside New Haven I might look at?
Lots of nice towns outside of the city. Mostly suburban with small downtown / commercial areas. Very family-oriented, great schools, safe, clean.
I recommend Milford and Branford. West Haven and East Haven aren’t as nice as Milford/Branford, but less expensive.
I would also look into Hamden, Stratford, North Haven, North Branford, Guilford, Madison, Clinton, Westbrook, Cheshire, Orange, Woodbridge. Some of these towns are $$$.
I would avoid the Naugatuck valley towns (along Rt 8). MAGA country.
Fyi, the traffic on Rt 95 is pretty bad. Rt 91 isn’t as bad imo but depends on the time/day. Lots of backroads, but they get traffic-y at rush hour and after school. Employee parking at Yale can be pricey, and sometimes there’s a waiting list for the most convenient lots. Yale has a free shuttle but it only covers East Rock. The public buses are decent for such a small city. There is also commuter rail (MetroNorth, Shoreline East, and the Hartford Line).
Eta: just a heads up, property taxes in CT can vary greatly between towns, as each town has its own mill rate. New Haven has very high tax rate because a huge portion of the land here is non-taxable non-profit or state property so the burden falls on property owners. We don’t have county government here, so no county taxes.
Thanks for the tip!!
I think more info than your salary would be needed to give you good insight. What do you think your monthly budget would be for housing costs?
This is actually my first job after schooling, so I’m not totally sure about my monthly budget. i will be living with one partner so it’ll be the two of us. I’ll definitely take some time to think about what other costs may be! I also appreciate any insight.
Have you considered renting for a few years to get a sense of where you want to settle longer term before buying?
i am in the process of buying a home in new haven right now on basically the same salary. your best bets are going to be the neighborhoods that are further out from downtown -- amity, fair haven heights, and morris cove/east shore all have a number of single family homes in the $200k - $300k range and are relatively nice places to live. the neighborhoods that people on this board recommend for renters (east rock, wooster square, westville to some extent) are going to be prohibitively expensive for home ownership. new haven is a small city where virtually everything is within commuting distance via a short drive/bus/bicycle ride so i wouldn't worry too much about the distance.
you might also want to look into the yale homebuyer's program if you are buying in new haven proper -- the university tries to help its employees stay in the city proper by offering incentives to buy in certain neighborhoods. i'm not a yale employee so i don't know all of the details, though.
I would start with a mortgage lender OP. They’ll show you how much house you’ll be able to afford with your credit and income and debt. I know some lenders will give you a hard time about employment history (they like to see two straight years) so getting financed right out of college might be hard but not impossible. Good luck! I love the east rock neighborhood myself.
Was going to give the same advice! They need to talk to a lender to understand what their pre-approval amount would be for a mortgage. Also reaching out to a realtor to help understand what’s on the market.
10/10 would recommend the Yale Homebuyer program if the property qualifies and base a lot of your search off of that. We've been in our house in the Quinnipiac Historic District for a few years now and really like it. Love being able to walk to the river (and Fair Haven Oyster Co). I also like having some distance away from the University and hospital, but still so easy to get there and into downtown. Also easy to "get away" and go up 91 for some hiking spots.
New Haven is mostly block-by-block as far as safety goes and we're had some recent shootings. Not going to lie, I'm not super comfy with walking around after dark, but I know most of my neighbors and there's a strong sense of community.
Do u know if yale hospital residents qualify for the homebuyer program or not?
I am honestly not sure if YNHH has that benefit. I was working at the university when we took advantage of the program.
If you are open to just a small 1-bedroom in a nice building in east rock (a good New Haven neighborhood), I’m actually probably ready to sell mine soon.
I bought it with my partner when we moved to New Haven but have since left and just never sold it since our lives suddenly got super, super busy.
It’s not large but it’s renovated and the building is really nice and safe. Probably would sell it for 200-205k.
Search previous posts. We get this post quite often, so there is a lot of advice out there already.
Welcome to New Haven!
I would strongly urge you to rent for a couple years before buying.
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East Rock or Westville in New Haven. Maybe Wooster Square if you can find a condo in your budget.
I’d also look at suburbs.
If you don’t need good schools, West Shore area of West Haven is a great value and nice and safe. Basically the shoreline area of West Haven that abuts Woodmont in Milford. Lot of bang for buck (besides the schools).
I’d also look at Milford and Branford, great towns. Wallingford is worth considering too. Hamden taxes are a little crazy so I’d avoid.
Seymour is a really good value if you don’t mind a little extra commute.
If you find anything in East rock that is affordable on a $75k salary please let me know because I certainly haven’t seen it in the last year. As others have mentioned, renting is definitely doable, but the “cheap” houses and condos in East Rock are well over $400k unless they’re totally run down.
I thought they had another income to help with costs.
Also:
Depending on down payment those could be doable. There’s not that much inventory now, anywhere.
Fair, although if you consider the HOA fees and taxes on those condos I would still say they’re inadvisable on $75k without a VERY substantial down payment, probably more than 20%
heathercs34 t1_jdl9ly5 wrote
I’m not going to lie, it will be difficult to find a house in a nice neighborhood in New Haven with a reasonable budget to fit your salary. Aside from housing costs, what is your monthly budget? What can you afford to spend on a mortgage? Down payment?