As the year nears its end, the latest monthly rental reports from various real estate companies have revealed that just like the temperatures in the city, the rents in Manhattan have also taken a dip, a dip that is particularly interesting given that there was a decrease in rents in the last month as well. However, as we mentioned in our analysis of last month’s rental report, despite the decreases, the average October rents are still at extremely high figures. For instance, the Elliman Report for October says that the average rental price for October was $3,856, an increase of 5.4% from the average rent of $3,658 for the same period last year.
Just as the rents continue to be high, the vacancy rates in Manhattan continue to fall. The Elliman report puts the vacancy rate at just 2%, which contributes to the high rents being asked for apartments today. Another rental report by Citi Habitats put the vacancy rate at a lesser 1.39%, with the relatively highest rates seen in popular Manhattan neighborhoods like Midtown East (1.75%), East Village (1.73%) and the Upper West Side (1.57%). So, if you have ever wanted to live in these great localities—now is a good time to go look for apartments there!
The Citi Habitats report has also listed the average rents for the various apartment sizes in Manhattan. A studio apartment asked for an average rent of $2,064, a one-bedroom asked for $2,858, a two-bedroom asked for $3,987 and a three-bedroom asked for $5,249. With respect to the rents being asked for the various neighborhoods, the highest figure on the chart was $9,495 for a three-bedroom rental in Soho/Tribeca, while the lowest rent was seen for a studio apartment in Washington Heights, which asked for $1,271 per month.
Once again, if there’s one thing that Manhattan apartment hunters need to learn from these rental reports, it is that they need to be extremely quick to decide once they find an apartment that they like. With the vacancy rate as low as it is, new apartments that come on the market have a very short shelf life, and there’s going to be a lot of competition for these apartments as well, giving that the highest vacancy rates have been seen in some really famous New York neighborhoods. So, if you are looking for a Manhattan apartment, use these insights to help you in your apartment hunt! Good luck.
See the full Elliman report by clicking here, and the full Citi Habitats report by clicking here.
