Apartment rentals New York with NYC Real Estate

Leaves Fall, No-Fee Apartment Listings Rise, or Why We Love NYC Real Estate In Fall

The specific numbers are different from quarter to quarter, of course, but for the most part the last few rounds of NYC rental stats  all point to the same conclusion -- the market for Manhattan rental apartments is strong, and growing stronger with each passing month. Which sounds great, of course, but has been less than great in practice for Manhattan rental apartment hunters. With vacancy rates back under one percent and rents rising slowly but steadily, all the things that made the less-than-strong NYC rental market of old so appealing for renters have become harder and harder to find. Regular readers of the Luxury Rentals Manhattan blog have probably noticed that posts like this have become something of a regular presence in this space. Gone, we note in tones of deep regret, are Manhattan rental apartments offering concessions, gone are the free months of rent and gym memberships and suchlike. Gone are the no-fee... oh wait, what's that? Some high-end new construction rental buildings are actually still offering up appealing concessions? And no-fee NYC rental listings are on the rise even though the rental market is strong and getting stronger? Must be getting cold outside. (Yes, that actually is how it works)

We're Number Six! We're Number Six! (Or, Rents on Manhattan Apartments Aren't As High As You'd Think)

Trends come and trends go, as regular readers of the Luxury Rentals Manhattan blog -- or anyone who lives in New York City -- knows. But while the ebbs and flows in the market for Manhattan rental apartments is our subject here at the LRM blog, one constant remains unspoken and, for the most part, unchallenged. And that is that living in New York City is cruelly, implausibly expensive by just about any standard. Yes, groceries cost more in Hawaii and gasoline costs more in Connecticut, but most NYC dwellers will be quick to tell you that everything costs more here in Manhattan. In the next breath, you'll hear that the reason for this is that everything is better in Manhattan, but the (presumed) fact is what it is. So it's safe to say that a recent finding by the U.S. Census is something of a mind-blower. Per the 2010 Census, New York City is not the first, second, or third-most expensive place to rent in the United States. Neither is it fourth or fifth. No, New York City is actually just the sixth-most expensive place to rent an apartment in the United States. We're number six, everyone! Pop champagne! Or... actually hold off on the champagne. Can this possibly be true?

NYC Rental Report: Vacancies Down, Rents Up on NYC Apartments. Landlords Love It, But How Should You Feel?

Deja vu? Maybe a little bit. But while regular readers of the Luxury Rentals Manhattan already know about the end of the renter's market for Manhattan rental listings -- in part because we wrote about it a few weeks ago -- it's impressive to watch the evidence of the Manhattan real estate market's recovery continue to pile up. Impressive, and maybe just a little bit depressing -- as we wrote earlier this month, the NYC rental market is at its most renter-friendly when it's at its weakest. A stronger rental market means fewer concessions and other goodies, and makes sought-after no-fee apartment listings that much tougher to find. But while the most recent report from The Real Estate Group New York offers a vivid example of just how far the Manhattan rental market has come since the dog days of 2009, it's not quite as bad for renters as it sounds. There are still good deals to be found for those searching for Manhattan rental apartments. It just makes the search that much tougher. So, now that the soothing is over, what does the report actually say?

Getting In The Zone: Department of City Planning Considering Re-Zoning Tribeca To Create More Residential Space

There's a lot to like about Tribeca, which is home to some of the most distinctive-looking blocks in Manhattan, as well as some of NYC's finest restaurants, shopping and art galleries. All of which makes it even more of a pity that there are relatively few rental listings in Tribeca, relative to its neighbors. But while the existing building stock in Tribeca -- much of it a century old and safely landmarked -- will probably prevent it from becoming a luxury rental listing mecca like the Financial District (Tribeca's neighbor to the south) or Soho (its neighbor to the North), a long-awaited plan to re-zone the largely industrial northern part of Tribeca to allow for more residential development is beginning to make its way through the Dpeartment of City Planning and Community Board 1. If approved, the re-zoning of Tribeca could make for a boom in Tribeca apartment listings, and thus make it easier to find a place to live in one of Manhattan's coolest residential neighborhoods.

Get Out Of Town: Checking In With Southeast Discovery and Taking A Break From Manhattan Rentals Apartments

New York City and New York City real estate have a way of focusing the mind -- this is a tough town, as you might've heard, and an interesting one. For those of us who care about NYC and the market for rental apartments in NYC, the ebbs and flows of the Manhattan real estate scene can come to seem like the most important news in the world. If you're searching Manhattan rental listings, it might well seem like it, but the national real estate market is plenty interesting in its own right. That's the reason -- well, mostly it's that we sometimes like to ogle North Carolina mountain homes and South Carolina golf homes, but also that -- why your Luxury Rentals Manhattan blogger often finds himself checking in with Southeast Discovery, a full-service real estate site serving, yes, the Southeast.

Lowering The Volume: Why Are Manhattan Rental Apartments So Hard To Find This Summer?

Prices on Manhattan rental apartments are down, which is good news for -- obviousness alert -- people looking for Manhattan rental apartments. But like all good news in NYC real estate, there's a catch, here. While it's easier to find a Manhattan rental listing at the price you want, it's getting harder to find a Manhattan rental listing period. Even during the summer, which is traditionally the prime time to find a Manhattan rental apartment, NYC apartment inventory is low and the market is, while still comparatively cheap, also surprisingly tight. The Apple Peeled takes a look at this curious and seemingly contradictory real estate trend and tries to make some sense of it.

The Recovery Continues, Part 23: Atlantic Development Announces Two New Luxury Rental Buildings in East Village and Chelsea

The ongoing economic recovery is good news both for Manhattan real estate developers and everyone who, you know, participates in the economy. That seems obvious, but it's worth mentioning mostly because all the recovery-related news here at the Luxury Rentals Manhattan job could easily be mistaken for a bummer by people searching for Manhattan rental apartments. Here there's news that NYC dwellers can no longer expect generous concessions on their Manhattan rental apartments. There there's news that Manhattan no-fee rental listings are not-so-gradually becoming an endangered species. Yes, it's good that the economy is apparently bouncing back. But where's the benefit for those looking for a Manhattan rental apartment? Well, it's coming, through what looks like a bumper crop of new construction luxury rental buildings that should arrive over the next year or two.

Better To Rent Than To Buy? Most People Say Yes

The very fact that a second "Sex and the City" movie exists is proof that the lessons of the sharp economic downturn -- both in Manhattan real estate and, um, everything else -- haven't totally sunken in with everybody out there. But while it's usually not a good idea to look to NYC real estate for signs of rational, level-headed thought, a recent poll by the National Apartment Association indicates that perhaps those looking for Manhattan rental apartments have internalized the lessons of the economic demi-disaster better than, say, whoever green-lit "Sex and the City 2: The Grievous Miscalculation." The NAA poll finds that 76 percent of people prefer to rent apartments, as opposed to owning them. That's a five percent increase since 2008, and it is, in its way, kind of heartening.

From "No Fee" To "No, Fee": WSJ Reports That Landlords Less Willing To Pay Broker's Fees On Manhattan Rental Apartments

We obviously spend a great deal of time surveying the market for Manhattan rental apartments here at the Luxury Rentals Manhattan blog -- the fact that this is the Luxury Rentals Manhattan blog might've been some indication of this. But while there's plenty of good news for NYC dwellers looking for a luxury rental in Manhattan, and we do our best to report it, the one topic we've kept coming back to over recent weeks and months is the decline (or not-decline) of the renter's market in Manhattan real estate. For the time being, we'd describe the renter's market as, if you'll pardon the real estate jargon, "still kind of happening, for the most part." But while prices are still fairly low on Manhattan rental listings, the perks that defined the renter's market at its peak -- from landlords paying fees to highly negotiable listing prices on rental apartments -- seem to be fading into the past. In the Wall Street Journal, Dawn Potapka delivers an obituary for the days of landlords gladly paying fees on Manhattan apartments. Let us bow our heads:

Tear Down That Wall? The Quest To Open Gramercy Park To NYC Dwellers Continues

There are a great many reasons to look for a luxury rental in Gramercy Park -- greater Gramercy is a beautiful neighborhood with plenty of nice restaurants, some charmingly low-key nightspots and several really nice rental apartment listings. But as much as we at Luxury Rentals Manhattan love us some Lex Lofts or Park 23, there's one thing that a rental apartment in Gramercy will never boast: access to the actual Gramercy Park. Keys to Gramercy Park are among the most elusive prizes in Manhattan real estate, and even people who own their apartments on Gramercy Park are denied keys. If you don't own one of the 39 town houses surrounding Gramercy Park, the best you can hope for is to look through the high, wrought-iron fence surrounding Gramercy Park's eponymous green space. But will it always be thus?