Rendering of 225 East 39th facade A glass curved building is coming to Murray Hill at 225 East 39th Street, by Fisher Brothers who began construction in March of 2015 and expect to have it complete by spring of 2017.

In an unexpected twist, Related Cos. elected to switch the luxury condos in MiMa, their 63-story glass high-rise on 42nd Street and 10th Avenue in Midtown West, to luxury rentals. Related planned for over 3 years to sell the 151 units as luxury condos, all located above the 50th floor of MiMa. The 663 luxury rentals on the lower stories were always been designated as rentals, but this sudden reversal to an all-rental building rather than a mixed sales and rentals building is more telling than it appears, though not in the way we might initially assume. This is not a case of desperate landlords panicking and using the luxury rental market as a safety net. Rather, this is a calculated decision based on the strengths and weaknesses of the rental and sales markets. If Related is making a smart decision, and it certainly appears that way, then MiMa's move to rental bodes well for the luxury rental market in Manhattan.

The journey towards securing an apartment for rent is often chaotic, unpredictable and needlessly time consuming. The myriad of decisions that you will have to make range from choosing the type of apartment, broker or no broker, access to neighborhood amenities, etc. In short, the process can often be strenuous and stress-inducing for many Manhattan renters. And when you consider the fact that many of the more desirable rentals do not appear on the market until mere weeks before an anticipated move-in date (that is, if they appear on the market at all), the metaphorical race to arrive at a dream apartment for rent in Manhattan is one more suited for the seasoned sprinters than the recreational joggers.