Apartment rentals New York with Trulia

Renting Versus Buying In Manhattan, or Picture Versus Thousand Words

We take a certain amount of pride here at the Luxury Rentals Manhattan blog in providing well-written posts on news and trends in Manhattan real estate, even if a strangely large amount of those posts winds up being about food for some reason. But we know when we're beat. This is one of those times. A recent study by real estate research clearing house Trulia revealed something that we at the LRM blog have written about previously -- namely, that it is exponentially wiser to rent a Manhattan apartment than it is to buy a Manhattan apartment, for a number of reasons. The Trulia report reveals that this remains true in New York City, and notably more true in New York City than anywhere else in the United States. Unfortunately for us, it does so in the handy, eye-catching graphic you see above, which illustrates the disparity in rent-to-buy price ratio in New York City and other United States real estate markets. You're looking at that image right now, aren't you? No, that's fine. It's a pretty great image. So great, in fact, that it more or less obviates the need for any words, per the usual one picture: 1000 words ratio. But let's press on, and provide a little more detail.

Rent Check: Study Confirms It's Smarter (And Cheaper) To Rent Than Own In NYC

There have been ups and downs in the market for Manhattan apartments for sale, but with the economy still bumping along the bottom in a host of indicators, the NYC condo market remains more of a buyer's market than a seller's market at this point. Which is great news... if you have $1.8 million dollars lying around, in which case you're used to great news every time you visit the ATM. But with the average price on Manhattan apartments rising to around $2 million, this buyer's market isn't one most New York apartment hunters can partake in. The good news, of course, is that there are plenty of available luxury rental apartments in Manhattan, many of them offering a level of luxury and amenitization that rivals that found at high-end Manhattan apartments for sale. But here's the better news -- a new study from real estate info clearinghouse Trulia reveals that it's not just less expensive to rent a Manhattan apartment than to buy one, it's also notably wiser and more cost-effective in the long run. (Thus the bling-bling dollar signs on this post) (Well, also we think they're neat)