Apartment rentals New York with Manhattan Real Estate Market

Renting is the Most Economical Option For Most New Yorkers

Living room at 37 Great Jones Street, a luxury rental building in NoHo.

Photo: Living Room at 37 Great Jones Street, a luxury rental building in NoHo.

We all know moving is a huge stressor, and even if you are financially well off, the monetary burden of moving can be quite significant. Two leading factors that make buying a home in the long term seem the better choice than renting are cutting back on the number of times one needs to move, along with the perceived investment opportunity.

Updated Rental Report: The Ups and Downs

The newest numbers are in, and it’s no surprise to see that overall Manhattan and Brooklyn rental prices are still up from 2012, but some of the month-to-month numbers might surprise you.

The Douglas Elliman Rental Report: What You Need to Know

NYC Skyline

As always, The Elliman Report released earlier this month provided a wealth of data on the state of the Manhattan real estate market. In many cases, the overall trends were not particularly surprising, with average prices maintaining their upward trajectory and vacancy rates remaining low. Still, when breaking down the numbers by specific neighborhoods, there are some interesting fluctuations from last year’s numbers worth noting.

How to Find Deals Without Leaving Manhattan

Apartment renters can still find deals in Manhattan if they look closelyDo you hear that? It’s the sound of taxicabs buzzing by and New York residents stomping their way to work; the sound of busy restaurants serving customers at their outdoor tables; the sound of dogs roughhousing in the dog runs at Central Park. Yes, Manhattan is alive and well, so it's no surprise that millions are trying to make Manhattan their permanent home, although high rents are making it hard for many. This financial duress is causing some to look across the river and to the north to find affordable rental apartments. But savvy renters shouldn't lose hope, because those that have been persistent enough to keep looking for high-quality rental apartments in Manhattan are still finding deals.

254 Front Street Finally Crosses the Finish Line

254 Front Street is directly adjacent to the Brooklyn BridgeThe saga of 254 Front Street may finally reach a happy ending. After a developer purchased the property in 2004 for a mere $4 million, numerous setbacks and ownership disputes threatened the project’s completion. This may have been in part because the value of 254 Front Street was lessened by its direct proximity to the Brooklyn Bridge; traditional wisdom held that it’s difficult to ‘sell’ the bridge, which is why the old Jeremy’s Ale House Building was so cheap. In the eight years that have elapsed since then, this 40-unit, 8-story building switched from a condo-conversion to a luxury rental, and now this pre-war rental conversion is finally about to complete construction and hit the market.

Wall Street's Woes Don't Slow Down Manhattan Rentals

Wall Street has always influenced apartment rentals in ManhattanWall Street has been front page news ever since Lehman Brothers went under back in 2008, and the adverse times that followed for the financial sector have been especially troubling in the Manhattan luxury real estate world, where the sales and rental markets have traditionally been upheld by young financiers with money to spend. But it turns out that the relationship between Wall Street and the Manhattan rental apartment market is not as strong as once believed, because Wall Street's struggles have yet to affect the luxury rental market.

According to data compiled by Nancy Packes Inc., 58% of renters below 96th Street in Manhattan made their money in finance in 2005. This year that number is down to 41%, yet the market hasn’t missed a beat. What changed? The economic landscape of New York City is now broadening and diversifying as tech- and creative-companies fill the void left by the decline of Wall Street. People in the tech and creative sectors now account for 12.8% and 13.5% of leases south of 96th Street, respectively, up from 7.2% and 8.57% in 2005. The tech-industry especially has picked up the slack for the Street, so times really have changed - brokers are almost as likely to run into a computer programmer looking to lease an apartment in Manhattan as they are a banker.

Manhattan Luxury Rental Market Continues to Rise in 2012

4 East 102nd Street, a new luxury rental on Manhattan's Upper East SideIn the Manhattan rental market in 2011, demand for rental apartments far outstripped supply. Both developers and lenders recognized that this pent-up demand made for ideal building conditions, which is why $2.9 billion worth of new residential projects began in New York City in 2011. That’s a 24% increase from 2010 according to data released by the New York Building Congress. Additionally, Manhattan’s slew of stalled construction sites - land controlled by developers who have obtained all the necessary construction permits yet have still halted work - has finally begun to shrink. According to the New York City Department of Buildings, Manhattan had 130 stalled construction sites at this time last year, and now that number has fallen to 114. Furthermore, the number of demolition permits issued in Manhattan rose from 2010 to 2011, so more developers are waiting to break ground. So all this new construction should alleviate demand in the near future, right? Not exactly. While this is undoubtedly a step in the right direction, it still falls well short of the kind of progress that would help bring down rental prices in Manhattan. If there’s a lesson to be learned from 2011, it’s that even rising inventory won’t slow down the Manhattan rental market, so we at Luxury Rentals Manhattan don’t expect rents to begin to fall in 2012.

The Mad Dash for Manhattan Rentals

Manhattan renters sprinting for rentals

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.