Inside NYC's housing lottery for apartments under $175k

New York City is offering a lottery for apartment units right by Central Park for as low as $173,801.

Transcript

00:00New York City is planning on selling apartments on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, just

00:04two blocks away from Central Park, for as low as $173,801.

00:09The 17-studio and one-bedroom units will be sold via lottery to New Yorkers making less

00:14than 120% of the area's median income, and you have no more than about $280,000 of assets.

00:2110,000 people have already applied ahead of the August 27 deadline.

00:25The overwhelming demand highlights the city's housing crisis, with the biggest shortage

00:29in over five decades amid sky-high rent prices and an influx of people in city shelters.

00:34The raffles administered by NYC Housing Connect allow those who meet the requirements to apply

00:39once per development.

00:40The price for this Upper West Side building on West 80th Street works out to as little

00:44as $340 per square foot, compared to nearby studios that are nearly half a million dollars.