NYC Renters Face Record-High Rents, Fewer Open Apartments: Study

NEW YORK CITY — Record-high rent prices. Few apartments on the market. Even fewer concessions.

That's what prospective tenants currently face in New York City's rental market, where pandemic deals have all but dried up, according to a new StreetEasy study.

And nowhere in the city has a more unfavorable rental landscape than Manhattan. Typical asking rents stood at $3,695 during the first three months this year, roughly $1,000 more than the same point in 2021, the study found.

Renters up should brace for major increases if their leases are up for renewals soon, said Joshua Clark, a senior economist at Zillow who is quoted in the study.

“Renters are generally in a tougher position than they normally are this time of year, but those able to take over the lease on a pandemic-deal apartment may have more luck," he said. "There could be a mass exodus of renters priced out of their apartments in the coming months that could help alleviate the weaker than normal supply of rental inventory."

The pricey picture painted by the study shows New York City's rental market is still being shook by the coronavirus pandemic.

An exodus of renters in 2020 forced landlords to drop prices and offer extraordinary concessions. Typical prices by early 2021 hit $2,700 — the lowest since StreetEasy started tracking rents, the study states.

But by April 2021, landlords started to take steps that put renters at a disadvantage. Many kept apartments off the market in hopes that prices would rise later.

And rise they did — not only have Manhattan rents this year hit record highs, Brooklyn's prices rose 16.9 percent to $2,800, according to the study.

Rental inventory — the number of apartments on the market — has also dropped significantly, the study found. Manhattan had 56,973 rentals advertised on StreetEasy during the first months of 2021; by the same time this year, there were 23,419, according to the study.

Concessions have also bottomed out. Just 13.1 percent of Manhattan rentals advertised concessions so far this year, compared to 42.8 percent at the same point in 2021, the study found.

Only Queens offered a bright spot, according to the study.

The typical rent in Queens stood at $2,300 in the first quarter — a level close to pre-pandemic levels, but still lower than Manhattan and Brooklyn, the study found.

"Queens inventory has remained relatively stable throughout the pandemic in comparison to Manhattan and Brooklyn," the study states.

Read the full StreetEasy study here.