High-renters in NYC - they've money to buy, but they ask 'why?'

New York

SINCE moving to New York City 16 years ago, Timothy Brown has lived in seven rentals, a succession of studios and one-bedrooms in Brooklyn, Chelsea, Murray Hill and now Kips Bay, where he has been subletting in a post-war high-rise condo for the past three years.

His real estate agent has been urging him in the strongest possible terms to buy a place, and Mr Brown, 41, an interior designer, has the means to do so. The inclination? Not so much.

"My nature is to move every couple of years," he said. "My broker has tried to convince me about the tax write-offs of ownership, but I have enough of those with my business."

Although he is renting (he pays US$3,100 a month), he was permitted to renovate the kitchen and bathroom and thus put his stamp on the place - just as if he o…