Apartment rentals New York with Luxury Rentals

Cell High: Roosevelt Island Luxury Rental The Octagon Scores Unique Green Honor

First things first: The Octagon, on Roosevelt Island, is one of the elite new luxury rental listings on Roosevelt Island -- which is a distinction that increasingly means something. But The Octagon is also more than that -- something simultaneously both more futuristic and more historic than the average Manhattan luxury rental, and another sign of Roosevelt Island's rise as a neighborhood worth watching on the Manhattan real estate scene. The Octagon New Yorkers know today -- a 500-unit luxury rental building that's also one of the greenest green rental buildings in New York City -- was built in 2006, around a (yes) octagonal building with a much longer story behind it. The octagon that forms the hub of The Octagon dates back to 1841, and was built then by Alexander Jackson Davis as a blue octagonal entrance building to what was known then as the New York City Lunatic Asylum (Today, of course, we no longer say "lunatic asylum," and instead use the term "Port Authority Bus Terminal.") That the space has since become one of the most luxurious rental listings on Roosevelt Island -- after 55 years of service as a 19th-century mental hospital, if you're just joining us -- is notable enough. But with the installation of a new, energy-efficient fuel cell that makes The Octagon the first green apartment building in NYC and New York State to be so-powered, The Octagon also has a claim to being one of the greenest green rentals in Manhattan.

Get Your Own Door: Are Doorman-Free Luxury Rentals The Biggest Value in NYC Real Estate?

There is something to be said for the Manhattan doorman rental apartment, especially for the New Yorker coming home late at night, or returning from a Whole Foods or C-Town expedition loaded down with groceries. But while most Manhattan luxury rental listings are doorman rental listings -- it comes with the "luxury" part -- there's nothing that says that you need someone to open the door for you, even after an evening on the town or an afternoon at the supermarket. Chances are that if you've managed to find your way onto the internet, let alone to Luxury Rentals Manhattan, you're probably pretty accomplished in tasks such as opening and closing doors. Which is to say that, if you're browsing luxury rental listings in Soho or searching for a rental apartment on the Upper East Side, would it really matter to you that much whether the aformentioned luxury rental in Soho or rental apartment on the Upper East Side came with a doorman? Well, apparently a great many people do -- which means that doorman-free rental listings in those most desirable Manhattan neighborhoods are notably cheaper than their be-doorman'ed counterparts. Is this the sort of market efficiency a savvy apartment-hunter could exploit to his/her advantage?

Luxury Rentals: Still The Famous Person's Choice When It Comes To Manhattan Apartments

Regular readers of the Luxury Rentals Manhattan blog know that it's a familiar refrain, and just about anyone who follows Manhattan real estate knows that it happens to be true, but let's run this up the flagpole one last time -- in today's Manhattan real estate marketplace, it is inarguably wiser to rent than to buy. (Here's visual proof, if you need it) Of course, if you're already browsing the Manhattan rental listings at Luxury Rentals Manhattan, you're already hip to this fact. But if celebrity endorsements are more your speed, you're in luck. Again, it's nothing new -- we were on this when Kings of Leon singer Caleb Followill joined NYC apartment rental community in May of last year -- but Curbed reports that some of Manhattan's best known residents are opting to rent rather than buy these days. (That handsome and extravagantly well-compensated fellow at left happens to be one of them)

Condo-Quality Redefined, or What's The Deal With Rental Listings In Luxury Condos?

When is a luxury rental apartment listing not a luxury rental apartment listing? Well, if you insist on getting technical about a rhetorical question, the answer is "never." But, for a new crop of Manhattan luxury rental listings, the answer is somewhat more complicated. Some of Manhattan's most impressive new luxury rental listings are either partnered with new construction luxury condos -- blockbuster midtown luxury rental The Ashley, for example, shares an amenity space, a developer, and a number of other commonalities with The Aldyn, a carbon-copy condo with which it was co-developed -- or, in such posh instances as Chelsea's promising Eventi rentals located on the upper floors of luxury hotels. For William Beaver House, a new luxury rental listing in the Financial District, the story is even more convoluted -- developed as a condominium, William Beaver House is still selling luxury condominiums. It just happens to offer some of the most luxurious rental listings in the Financial District, as well. And there is, of course, Frank Gehry's luxury rental at 8 Spruce Street in the Financial District, which ranks among the most luxurious luxury rentals in Manhattan real estate history. The phrase "condo-quality finishes" has never seemed more literally apt, and less like a real estate buzzword. While this new proliferation of condo-rental combos can make for some confusion when browsing Manhattan rental listings, one effect is clear -- it certainly has deepened Manhattan's already deep pool of high-end rental listings.

Deluxe (Rental) Apartment In The Sky: More And More New Yorkers Opting For High-End Rentals Over Condos

After a number of recent posts here at the Luxury Rentals Manhattan blog can attest, we are of the opinion that autumn and winter are about as good as it gets for Manhattan luxury rentals. Which, being as this is the blog at a site comprised mostly of Manhattan rental listings, probably makes some sense. But while the seasonal rise in concessions makes Manhattan rentals that much more appealing, there's also a broader, contextual reason the Manhattan apartment rental market has performed so well of late -- that reason being that buying Manhattan condos is hugely expensive, hilariously onerous, generally difficult and not becoming notably less so. All of which explains, somewhat, why the market for high-price, high-end Manhattan luxury rentals is currently booming. And things are currently hottest at the very high end of the market.

Luxury Rentals Manhattan Stathead Special: October's NYC Rental Apartment Stats In Context

It's the nature of things, both here at Luxury Rentals Manhattan and elsewhere in the world, to see things out of context. After all, what's happening right now generally seems more important because of that right-nowness. But when it comes to Manhattan apartment rental figures -- heck, when it comes to anything at all -- context is the thing. Slight fluctuations from month to month are meaningful as far as they go -- that is, 30-odd days -- but not so meaningful beyond that. Which, besides the fact that we're kind of into anything having to do with Manhattan apartment rentals, is why we so dig UrbanDigs' multi-year, context-rich NYC real estate rental chart. So, what are we looking at, here?

NYC Renters Market In Retreat: Rents Up, Vacancies Down On Manhattan Rental Apartments

Like a heroine in a Russian novel, the Manhattan real estate market is never more lovely than when it's ailing. For NYC dwellers looking for Manhattan rental apartments, at least, a weak NYC rental market is a friendly NYC rental market, with all the rental concessions, no fee apartment listings and deals on Manhattan luxury rentals that entails. But while the economies of New York City and New York state are still struggling along, the NYC real estate scene has surged back to robust health in recent months. For landlords, this is great news. For people searching Manhattan rental listings, it's somewhat less so. The July New York City rental report by The Real Estate Group New York bears why that is -- the almost total disappearance of rental concessions, the scarcity of no-fee rental listings, and a modest but notable across-the-board hike in rents on Manhattan rental apartments. Read on, if you dare.

Meet The Townsend, The Newest Luxury Rental Building In Hudson Yards

No, we're still not going to call the rising residential neighborhood in West Chelsea and West Clinton -- Hudson Yards, to some -- by the name real estate types have tried to hang on it. But just because we're not going to call "The Linc" The Linc doesn't mean that we won't call it one of Manhattan's fastest-growing markets for luxury rental apartments. While it's unclear whether we should classify the apartments for rent in greater Hudson Yards as Chelsea rental listings, Garment District apartment rentals or Clinton rental listings, the fact remains that the bumper crop of new construction luxury rental buildings in the neighborhood, highlighted by superstar LEED-certified rental Emerald Green, have helped turn this formerly desolate stretch of Midtown West into one of the more interesting places to rent an apartment in Manhattan. With news that the second phase of The High Line will reach Hudson Yards' southernmost regions and that an expanded 7 train could make it increasingly accessible to the rest of the city, the future seems bright for Hudson Yards. In that sense, then, perhaps the announcement of an impressive new luxury rental apartment building in Hudson Yards shouldn't be too surprising. Still, by any standard, the just-finished Townsend -- a 569-unit luxury rental building at 350 West 37th Street -- is a pretty cool development, and another sign of how hot Hudson Yards has become.

Main Eventi: Rental Apartments in Chelsea Luxury Hotel Eventi Get Name, Leasing Date

Given the jaw-dropping price tags involved, this fact is pretty academic for most New Yorkers, but you may be interested to know that it is common practice for ultra-luxury hotels to set aside a few floors as ultra-luxury condos. It's not exactly clear who is laying down the money necessary for the luxury condos at The Mark or The Residences at The Mandarin Oriental, but neither is it difficult to see what's appealing about an apartment within a luxury hotel -- from the full-service experience to the high-end amenities, anyone who has ever stayed in a fancy hotel is surely familiar with the wish to stay forever. More rare than that, though, and notably more welcome for those New Yorkers who can't cut an $18 million check for a three-bedroom spot at The Mandarin Oriental -- so, basically everyone but A-Rod -- is a luxury hotel setting aside floors for luxury rentals. The just-opened Eventi Hotel at 835 Sixth Avenue, between 28th and 29th Street, is doing just that. The rental apartments at the Eventi will be known as The Beatrice, and are located on the top 24 floors of the hotel. While The Beatrice is still three weeks shy of its leasing date, early chatter on this new Chelsea luxury rental project suggest that The Beatrice will be one of the elite Chelsea luxury rental listings on the market.

Phase Two of the High Line to be Completed Next Spring

Watch out Chelsea: the second part of the High Line will be complete next spring and along with it will come more attention to your luxury Manhattan rentals.  With the first phase of the project already open, alive and bustling with NYC dwellers and tourists alike some 30 feet above Chelsea, this old railway turned public park is a pretty unique part of New York City. Ten more blocks of High Line, running from 20th Street up to 30th Street in Chelsea, promise to deliver the same benefits as the first stretch: unmatched Hudson River views, a lively hangout scene, beautiful local grasses and plants, and -- perhaps most important for Luxury Rentals Manhattan's purposes -- a serious boost for the luxury rental listings lucky enough to sit in the portion of Chelsea nearest The High Line.