NYC's Rising, Nearly $4,300 Rent 'Bucks' Flat Nationwide Trends: Study

NEW YORK CITY — Rising rents? Only in New York!

The Big Apple's ever-more-expensive rental market is an exception to apartment prices nationally remaining flat, as in moving less than 1 percentage point either up or down, according to a new Zumper study.

One- and two-bedrooms nationwide saw typical prices respectively dipped 0.6 percent and tick up 0.1 percent to $1,486 and $1,843 over the past year during April, the study found.

New York City's typical prices for one- and two-bedrooms, however, increased a whopping nearly 20 percent and 26 percent, respectively, to $4,280 and $4,950 in the past year, according to the study.

"New York City continues to buck national trends, with rent up 20% since this time last year and up 50% since pre-pandemic days, and currently has the tightest rental vacancy rate it’s seen in decades," the study states.

The city became the most expensive rental market in the U.S. during the height of COVID and hasn't looked back.

Jersey City recently supplanted San Francisco — which previously held the dubious honor as most expensive rental city before New York City overtook it — as the second-priciest city in the nation.

Rent in Jersey City stood at $3,250 for a one-bedroom — more than $1,000 below New York City's median price, the study found.

San Francisco's typical rent during April was $2,910 for a one-bedroom, according to the study.

Beyond price, New York City is in the midst of an historic crunch for vacant apartments.

The city's 1.4 percent vacancy rate is the tightest since the 1960s, according to the Zumper study.

"The national rental vacancy rate is 6.6%," the study states.

"However, there may be some good news for renters in the Big Apple as there are almost 25k units scheduled to be completed in 2024, which would mark the highest delivery volume in over 15 years."

Read the full study here.