Apartment rentals New York with Affordable Rental Apartments

“The rent is too damn high!” This phrase, adopted as the slogan and the official name of by a New York City political party founded by Jimmy McMillan, is something that every New Yorker has probably uttered at least once during his or her stay in the city that never sleeps. And if the latest real estate reports are anything to go by, it seems this sad refrain is not likely to lose its popularity any time soon: high rents are still very much the norm for apartments in Manhattan. The Manhattan Rental Market Report for July by MNS has revealed that as the first half of the year came to closure, most rents for apartments in the city have seen increases as compared to June.

After all the cheering for the good news coming out of the Manhattan real estate sector in June, the good spell for the housing market has continued through to July as well. The latest report by real estate firm Citi Habitats reveals that the vacancy rates for apartments in Manhattan have risen to 1.2 per cent, an increase that bodes well for those hunting homes in the city. The highest vacancy rates were seen in the East Village with 1.65 percent, followed closely by the Upper West Side with 1.56 percent and Murray Hill with 1.52 percent. Once again, people looking for homes in the city are at an advantage, and should make use of this time wisely to find their dream homes.

Tough economic times have caused New Yorkers to tighten their purse strings, and some of the ones bearing the brunt of these hard times are New York’s real estate brokers. In a recent survey conducted by Rent.com, four out of ten New Yorkers said that they would not like to pay a broker’s fee when they look for an apartment. In a city where finding a rental is often fraught with difficulties, city residents don’t seem to want to have the broker’s fee added on to their list of expenses. The broker’s fee is typically about 15 percent of an apartment’s yearly rent, but with the double whammy of a surge in rents and a dip in vacancies in the city, New Yorkers are holding on to all their dollars to make sure they can afford their homes.

The Beaumont has seen some better days. A historic Harlem rental building that had previously hosted author Ralph Ellison and opera singer Marian Anderson, 730 Riverside Drive has since fallen into quite a bit of disarray regarding its management and maintenance. However, efforts will soon be undertaken to bring this Manhattan rental back to some of its former glory. The order has been issued down from a state Supreme Court judge to name a receiver to oversee the restoration and renovation of the Manhattan rental building. Attorney Bradley Marks will take up this role of receiver, officially gaining the responsibility of overseeing the restoration projects set to take place.

When Sheffield 57, a luxury Manhattan apartment building on 57th Street, was originally built in 1979, it was a colossal building, standing 58 stories tall and holding 845 New York apartments for rent that tended towards the small; it was a building for lower-income families who wouldn’t mind the cramped living conditions if it meant they could live in the Clinton neighborhood.

Fast forward to 2005, when real estate investor Kent Swig bought the building for a then-unheard of $418 million, with an eye towards consolidating the apartments for rent and turning them into luxury condos for sale. But the purchase and subsequent plans for renovation sparked a battle between the developer and the tenants who already lived there. Renters wondered what would happen to their apartments, whether they’d be able to stay, and if they’d be able to put the rent they’d already paid towards a purchase.