Touro College, Brooklyn,Ita Yankovich

Question: Many Jewish families are moving out of Orthodox neighborhoods due to the high cost of real estate. Do you see a solution?

Families will have to move to the edge of popular Jewish neighborhoods for affordable housing. I know many Jews are moving out to neighborhoods like Bensonhurst. One solution might be to look into condominiums instead of private housing.

- Yisroel Fink, student

This is not limited to Jewish neighborhoods; the issue is universal. Whenever you have members of an ethnic group wanting to live in the same area, the demand will push prices up. What's happening is simply a reflection of the market. As Jews, we don't have the luxury of living wherever we want - we need housing where there's easy access to minyanim, shuls, kosher food, etc. Any possible solutions are temporary at best, because as soon as the problem is alleviated in one area, it arises in another.

- Avrumi Wullinger, student

We need to explore real estate outside the heavily populated areas. Monsey and Lakewood are still modestly priced. Jewish families will have to move further out - but the more we build and move out, the more the problem spreads. One solution is to perhaps organize a "shadchan" system whereby young families are set up with affordable housing through organizations created to look out for them.

- Menachem Klein, student

Prices certainly are sky high. Real estate agents see where the demand is and then they jack up the prices. There is no solution; this is the reality of real estate. It seems that the only possible solution is for Jewish homeowners to move to the outskirts of a community, where housing tends to be more affordable.

- Ben Kopciel, student

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