Apartment rentals New York with Luxury Manhattan Apartments

International Guarantors and NYC Luxury Real Estate

Luxury Manhattan Rentals - International StudentsWithin NYC luxury real estate, it is often quite difficult as an international student to find a luxury rental apartment. It can be hard for most students, as well as many others without a long work history or established credit, to obtain a luxury apartment lease. But for international students searching through NYC luxury real estate listings, it can be even more of an ordeal, simply because they do not have the same opportunity to use a guarantor. Susan Tsang, for example, is a PhD student in biology who was born in Hong Kong. When she moved to NYC to attend school, she did not have any U.S. employment history, and therefore was in a position where she needed a co-signer. However, because her parents still lived in Hong Kong, she was confronted with a number of challenges, as dozens of landlords refused to allow for international guarantors. She was eventually able to find a studio in Manhattan’s Upper West Side neighborhood, but not before she was forced to deal with the roadblocks a great many foreigners have had to circumnavigate.

The Fight to Preserve The Bowery

Luxury NY Rentals - Bowery Listings“The Bowery! The Bowery! They say such things and they do strange things,” began an 1891 song. But what was once known as Skid Row, full of vagrants and artists alike, has over the past few years continued on a path toward full gentrification. Much has changed from the days of towering bank headquarters and performances by Vaudevillian legends. Progress, to be sure, always brings about change. But while many of the residents of luxury rentals in the Bowery see innovation as being productive, they are also fighting to keep the flavor of this iconic neighborhood’s past intact.

A New Market for Wealthy Renters Takes Hold

Luxury Manhattan Rentals - Real Estate TrendsNew luxury rental buildings built in the past few years have changed the dynamic between buying and renting in Manhattan, perhaps permanently. A trend has emerged among Manhattan elites: a wave of wealthy renters are leasing properties all over the borough. This shift in demand has created a niche market for ultra-luxury apartments that didn’t exist before, at least not nearly to this extent. Moreover, the stigma attached to renting a luxury apartment in Manhattan as a significant downgrade in social status is rapidly disappearing. This Old New York mentality has given way to the new attitude that there is no substantive difference between the two, whether it be in quality of living or in social standing. This shift is directly attributable to the high-quality of new construction in Manhattan, but it extends to all Manhattan real estate as well. The proof is in the listings.

Hudson Square: The Little NYC Area That Could

NYC Luxury Rentals - Hudson SquareWhat was once New York City’s premier printing neighborhood is now one of New York City’s best up-and-coming finds. Hudson Square is a modest stretch of land bordered by Greenwich Village, TriBeCa and SoHo in downtown Manhattan. More specifically, Hudson Square (also referred to by its lesser known name West Soho) runs from West Houston Street and Canal Street and sits between 6th Avenue and the Hudson River. Hudson Square contains the largest concentrations of early 19th century Federalist and Greek revival style row houses, and as the area continues to boom commercially with investors and vendors, luxury rental apartments near Hudson Square are steadily gaining popularity.

East Side Residents Support New East River Greenway

Manhattan Luxury Rentals - East River GreenwayThe East River Greenway project, one of the newest attempts to provide further green areas within Manhattan’s East Side, and more specifically the Midtown East neighborhood, is continuing to grow in popularity. A recent poll, taken by the aptly named organization Friends of the East River Greenway reported that 73 percent of those living in the East Side support this new project, suggesting that it is getting ever closer to coming to fruition. Even with its expensive price-tag, this attempt to beautify one of NYC’s most historic areas is one that promises to make the East Side ever more popular as a place to rent luxury apartments.

The New South Street Seaport: Not For the Fish

NYC Luxury Rentals - South Street SeaportFor many years, cries of “fresh fish!”, shouted by fish-mongers plying their wares, were far more prevalent than residents within Manhattan’s South Street Seaport. But since 2005, with the re-location of the Fulton Fish Market to Hunts Point, that paradigm has become obsolete, as many Manhattanites find themselves choosing to rent luxury apartments within this historic district. To be sure, there has been a changing atmosphere in the area dating back to the late 1970s, but since 2005 the rate of transformation has rapidly increased, perhaps representing the beginning of a new trend within Manhattan real estate.

Proposed East Village Historic District Could Raise Rents…Again

Manhattan Luxury Apartments - East Village Historic DistrictOnce a part of a larger, broader Lower East Side, the East Village is one of New York City’s trendiest neighborhoods. Adhering to Manhattan’s street grid unlike its former namesake, the East Village has a vibrant student, immigrant, and artist population, and demand in the area has skyrocketed as a result of being the place to be in Downtown Manhattan. Now, to the chagrin of basically everybody but landlords, rents might increase yet again, but for a completely different reason: the Landmarks Preservation Commission has its sights on the East Village.

In its conspiracy project to landmark all of Lower and Downtown Manhattan attempt to preserve historic architecture from the fate that belied much of the southeastern Lower East Side, the LPC has proposed a district centered on Second Avenue between East Second and Seventh Streets, comprising a wealth of 19th- and early 20th-century brownstones, walk ups, and federal architecture. The aim of this proposal is overwhelmingly positive, protecting a cherished neighborhood from even the smallest possibility of losing character. But what does it mean for rentals, specifically luxury rentals?

Movin' On Up: Tips to Master the Tricky Manhattan Move-in

 Manhattan Luxury Apartments - Manhattan Move-inWhen it comes to the ordeal of moving to a new apartment, most if not all of Manhattan’s residents utter a collective, frustrated sigh as they ponder the various inconveniences that go hand-in-hand with this undertaking. This could of course be due to the fact that in New York City a host of extra complications arise, whether one is moving into a new luxury rental or a condominium, including but not limited to: street-cleaning restrictions, regulations concerning the use of the apartment building’s elevator, and of course, the oft encountered, always dreaded narrow doorways, most often associated with pre-war buildings. As Susan Stellin explains in her NY Times article, moving has, if anything, become even more complicated, transforming what had previously been an annoyance into an almost full-fledged problem.

Summer Trends: Closing the Gap Between Doorman and Non-Doorman Buildings

NYC Luxury Rentals - Summer TrendsAs July nears its end, New Yorkers are passing the halfway mark of a sunny, sweltering summer. With dizzying heat waves crossing the country and sending miserable New Yorkers a-scramble for sunblock and the nearest air conditioner, a bit of (semi-)good news would not be amiss. So we at Luxury Rentals Manhattan are happy to report that -- once again -- our past predictions for the summer have come to fruition, despite our recently tempered views. The summer Manhattan rental season has continued to grow in strength according to July’s rental market report, with rents climbing across the board. And while only last month we touted the price benefits of non-doorman buildings, July sings quite a different tune. The prices of doorman and non-doorman buildings are slowly drawing even as the market buffs up and rents rise, closing June’s price gap between the two types of rentals.