NYC Rent Growth Drops To 2-Year Low, Study Finds

NEW YORK CITY — New York City's rents aren't rocketing up to too damn high levels as fast, according to a new study.

Rent growth in November dropped below 3 percent for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic, a StreetEasy study released Tuesday found.

The city's typical rent fell in a single month from $3,600 to $3,500 — an eye-watering amount from most over cities, but just a fraction below last November's prices, the study states.

"November marks the slowest year-over-year rent growth (2.9%) since August 2021, when rents began rapidly increasing after the pandemic lull," the study states.

The two-year rent growth low is in line with a recent StreetEasy prediction that rental prices likely won't fall in 2024, but largely stay at the same high levels.

The new study did offer some spots of positive news for renters.

Rental concessions hit a two-year high in the city, with one in five units offering at least a month of free rent in November, the study found.

And the study also pointed toward signs, notably an expansion in available apartments, that Manhattan is poised to asking rents decline in 2024.

Manhattan's rent stood at $4,150 in November, which was still astronomical, but also cheaper than October's $4,195, according to the study.

Things were cheaper in Brooklyn and Queens, but prospective renters have a mixed bag ahead in both boroughs, the study found.

Queens is the only borough where rent growth isn't slowing, with November's median rent up 11.5 percent above the same month last year, according to the study.

"New Yorkers have been increasingly considering Queens as they search for more affordable rentals compared to Manhattan and Brooklyn," the study states.

Read the full study here.