As we expected to happen sooner rather than later, Manhattan rents have stabilized, bringing an end to the sixth month slide that began in August of 2013, according to a report by Jonathan Miller. Instead of the median rental price for the borough continuing to decline, March saw the median price rise by 0.2 percent from the same time last year, now sitting at $3,200 per month, nearly the same as last year’s median of $3,195. The median rental price for Manhattan last Februrary was $3,100.
Though the median price had been decreasing on a year-over scale, the median price for an apartment month-over-month has remained relatively consistent since last summer, typically ranging between $3,100 to $3,200 per month.
In March of 2013, just 4.6 percent of apartments were rented with a landlord concession, which has since increased to 9.4 percent for March of this year. The concessions continue to come primarily in the form of one month’s rent. The vacancy rate in Manhattan remains low, though there has been a slight increase from 1.46 percent to 1.68 percent last month on a year-over scale.
The luxury side of the market, which covers the top 10 percent of rentals, decreased by 3.9 percent from February to March, yet March’s $8,262-median is 2 percent higher than it was the same month last year ($8,101).
While Manhattan levels out, Brooklyn continues to climb. The median rental price for an apartment in Brooklyn climbed from $2,560 in March 2013, to $2,900 in March 2014, which marks a 13.3 percent increase. For 10 consecutive months, the median rent in Brooklyn has continued to climb on a year-over-year scale. This is the highest Brooklyn rents have been since this metric was first tracked in 2008.
Brooklynites aren’t accepting the rent increase without a fight, however. The number of new apartments for rent on the market in Brooklyn increased from 311 to 854 from the same month last year, showing that tenants are opting to search for more affordable apartments rather than re-signing a lease.
