Apartment rentals New York with Rental Report

For the second straight month, the median rental price of a Manhattan apartment declined from the same month last year, according to the October rental report by Elliman. The median rent in Manhattan for October was $3,150, a 1.6 percent drop from October 2012’s $3,200. Prior to September, Manhattan had seen 26 consecutive months of increased rents when compared to the same month from the previous year.

If you’ve been putting off renting an apartment in Manhattan because of increasing rents, don’t hold your breath. The latest report by Elliman shows that Manhattan rents have now increased for 26 straight months. Yes, rents have been increasing on a monthly basis since the summer of 2011. The good news for renters is that the median rent last month only rose by 1.8 percent from August last year. The bad news is that there’s no reason to assume that rents won’t continue to rise.

As the year draws to a close, the latest rental report from MNS for the month of November reveals that rents in Manhattan have fallen again, hence following the trend seen in the borough’s rental market since fall began. However, the decrease seen in November is a very small one, with the average decrease across units reported as only $19. However, professionals following the real estate market closely over the past few years will probably not be too surprised by these values, because decreases in rents are traditionally seen during the same time as temperatures fall in New York City. Besides, the rents here had been on an upward spiral up till September, and had also plateaued at really high values. But November’s report is noteworthy because of the drop in the city's inventory, thanks to a market that was already short of apartments and Superstorm Sandy shuttering many of the new buildings as well.

The National Association of Home Builders, in conjunction with Wells Fargo, released their monthly Housing Market Index last month, and the report, which gauges builder confidence in the housing market nationwide, provided some promising new information. Nationally, builder confidence in new construction is higher than it has been since before the market crash, and while the index number is still relatively low—standing in February at 29—it is on a consistently upward trajectory, and is now the highest it has been since May 2007. While the report does not touch on individual markets, it does imply good news for builders and renters of apartments in Manhattan.