Well, don’t say we didn’t warn you: the latest rental market report from Elliman says that rents in Manhattan and Brooklyn have been steadily rising since the beginning of 2013. Increases in rental prices have been seen across all apartment sizes in the city, with the average rents in Manhattan and Brooklyn coming up to $3,930 and $2,971, respectively, in March.
With the vacancy rate in Manhattan having fallen to its lowest value in two years (1.46%), all signs point to the rental market continuing to be a tight one for the rest of the year as well. While there were some predictions that increasing rents would cause more renters to become buyers, the low number of choices in the sales market has forced people to keep their owning dreams on hold.
But it’s not just Manhattan: Brooklyn’s rental market has also been doing especially well, with rents in the borough rising by 11.3% in March. The number of new rentals in the Brooklyn market has also fallen—the Elliman report says that this is because many renters, afraid of the low-inventory market, are not letting go of their apartments and are instead renewing their existing leases.
As a result, the rental market is today on the side of the landlords, and apartment hunters will find it hard to get any landlord concessions. For those looking for the silver lining in all this—the report indicates that Uptown Manhattan may be a good place to hunt for homes right now. Not only does this area have the highest vacancy rate, the average rents here were lower than the rest of the city.
Another way for renters to save some money in this tight rental market is to look for homes in no-fee apartment buildings—you wouldn’t have to pay a broker’s fee for moving into such rental apartments. And don’t think these buildings are located in some dingy Manhattan locality—no-fee apartments can be found in neighborhoods as trendy as Chelsea, Tribeca and more.
