Richmond County

Richmond County (Staten Island) is priced like an appreciation market and performs like one, which means cash flow is structurally negative before you even start. The gross rent-to-price ratio sits at 0.044, and the model cap rate comes out to 2.85%, well below any threshold where debt service becomes manageable at a 6.85% financing rate. Running the numbers on a median-priced asset at $718,959 with 20% down, the monthly mortgage alone is $3,769. Against $2,631 in estimated rent and $921 in operating expenses, you land at negative $2,059 per month in cash flow and a cash-on-cash return of negative 14.94%. That is not rounding error, it is the structural reality of buying a high-price, moderate-rent borough at today's rates. The 5.63% year-over-year home price appreciation is the asset doing what it was built to do, and it is the only return carrying this investment.

The appreciation score of 88 out of 100 tells you exactly who Richmond suits: a buyer with sufficient capital reserves to carry a meaningful monthly deficit, betting on continued price appreciation in a supply-constrained New York City borough. With a median home price of $718,959 and a median household income of $96,185, the affordability index of 25 confirms that organic homebuyer demand is compressed, which historically keeps more residents renting even as ownership costs rise. That dynamic can support rental demand over time, but it does not fix the cash-flow problem at acquisition. A pure cash-flow buyer should not be here. A value-add operator faces the same structural ceiling since lifting rents from $2,631 meaningfully enough to cover a $3,769 mortgage plus operating costs requires a level of rent growth that the income base at $96,185 median income does not easily support. The investor who makes this work is typically accepting a portfolio-level loss-leader with a long hold thesis and tax benefits from depreciation offsetting income elsewhere.

The tax and insurance load deserves its own line on your underwrite. Using the state-average effective rate of 1.72%, a note made clear is a state-average estimate and actual county or township rates may differ, annual property tax on the median asset comes to $12,366. Add $1,726 in annual insurance and you are looking at $1,174 per month in combined tax and insurance before any maintenance, management, or vacancy reserve. At 1.72%, New York's property tax rate is high enough to meaningfully move the needle on a deal that is already deeply cash-flow negative. If your specific parcel carries a higher effective rate than the state average, the numbers get worse. This is not a market where you underwrite using state averages and hope for the best at closing.

Concentration risk is real here. Richmond County is a single borough of New York City, geographically isolated on an island, with one primary demographic profile and no economic anchor data provided to assess employer diversity or job stability. The overall score of 50 and national percentile rank of 27 out of 1,000 counties reflect a market that scores well on appreciation and poorly on nearly everything else an income investor cares about. The stability score of 50 is median, not reassuring given the cash-flow exposure. New York City's regulatory environment for landlords, including rent stabilization rules, eviction procedures, and local housing codes, adds a compliance and legal cost layer that does not show up in this model but belongs in any serious underwrite.

Comparing Richmond to its neighbors clarifies where it fits. Queens County prices nearly identically at $722,489 but generates a rent-to-price ratio of 0.050 versus Richmond's 0.044, a gap that translates to materially better cash-flow positioning for the same capital outlay. Rockland County at $724,554 also delivers a 0.049 ratio. Even Kings County (Brooklyn), priced at $915,205, achieves a 0.046 ratio because rents at $3,516 better compensate for the higher basis. Among the listed neighbors, only Westchester County matches Richmond's weak 0.044 ratio, and Westchester carries a higher price at $824,579 to boot. Warren County is a different market entirely at a $356,302 median, with a 0.045 ratio but at a scale where debt service is manageable. Choose Richmond over its neighbors when you have a specific thesis tied to Staten Island price appreciation, you can carry the negative cash flow without impairing your portfolio, and you have a defined exit horizon. If income is the goal, Queens or Rockland deliver meaningfully better ratios at comparable entry prices and deserve the first look.