New York City Luxury Rental Blog Archives for January 2012

Manhattan Luxury Rental Market Continues to Rise in 2012

4 East 102nd Street, a new luxury rental on Manhattan's Upper East SideIn the Manhattan rental market in 2011, demand for rental apartments far outstripped supply. Both developers and lenders recognized that this pent-up demand made for ideal building conditions, which is why $2.9 billion worth of new residential projects began in New York City in 2011. That’s a 24% increase from 2010 according to data released by the New York Building Congress. Additionally, Manhattan’s slew of stalled construction sites - land controlled by developers who have obtained all the necessary construction permits yet have still halted work - has finally begun to shrink. According to the New York City Department of Buildings, Manhattan had 130 stalled construction sites at this time last year, and now that number has fallen to 114. Furthermore, the number of demolition permits issued in Manhattan rose from 2010 to 2011, so more developers are waiting to break ground. So all this new construction should alleviate demand in the near future, right? Not exactly. While this is undoubtedly a step in the right direction, it still falls well short of the kind of progress that would help bring down rental prices in Manhattan. If there’s a lesson to be learned from 2011, it’s that even rising inventory won’t slow down the Manhattan rental market, so we at Luxury Rentals Manhattan don’t expect rents to begin to fall in 2012.

Time to Get Familiar With Manhattan's Best Micro-Neighborhoods

Micro-neighborhood Two Bridges offers great Manhattan apartmentsMost renters of Manhattan apartments are always looking for that unique deal that somehow slips under the radar. After all, it only takes one golden opportunity to land the place of your dreams, even in the ultra-competitive Manhattan rental market. At a time like this, it's especially important to know every last nook of the Manhattan real estate world. So if you want to find an ideal Manhattan rental apartment, don’t overlook Manhattan’s micro-neighborhoods, especially the ones that aren't getting a lot of attention right now. But between Manhattan’s many micro-neighborhoods, the deals are abundant. We at Luxury Rentals Manhattan decided to do an overview of some of the best micro-neighborhoods in Manhattan.

Doorman vs Non-doorman: The Tribeca Exception to the Rule

The Tribeca neighborhooTribeca loftd is home to some of the most expensive apartments for rent in Manhattan. According to the MNS December rental market report, rent in Tribeca has consistently out priced nearly every neighborhood since December 2010. Only apartments in Soho cost more than those in Tribeca, and even then it's only one- and two-bedroom apartments in doorman buildings that do. Non-doorman buildings are more expensive across the board in Tribeca. Which brings us to the focus of this article, and one of New York's more peculiar trends: the triangle south of Canal Street is the only neighborhood in Manhattan where apartments for rent in non-doorman buildings are more expensive than apartments in buildings that have doormen. Tribeca studio apartments in non-doorman buildings have been more expensive than their doorman counterparts every month since December 2010. And one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments without doormen have likewise cost more almost as consistently. In December 2011, having a doorman with your two-bedroom apartment saved you over $1,000. And a doorman welcoming you into your studio shaved nearly $800 off your rent.

Gotham West, Largest Affordable Housing Project, Breaks Ground Near Hudson Yards

Gotham WestNothing in recent Manhattan history has spurred development like Hudson Yards in Midtown West is now. Since 2005, the one-time site of Mayor Bloomberg’s failed Olympics bid has seen the construction of 15 Manhattan luxury condo buildings and 12 hotels. News about development projects in the area are released every day it seems, and every real estate insider projects that development will skyrocket in the Far West Side over the next several years. Even building projects not directly inside the Hudson Yards boundaries have the area to thank for their existence. Gotham West, a massive construction project that will take up an entire block, is one such building. From 44th to 45th Street and Tenth to Eleventh Avenue, Gotham West is a four-tower rental and condo hybrid that plans to offer 1,263 housing units, 556 of which will be apartments for rent.

Manhattan's Rental Inventory to Stay Scarce

The December 2011 rentaFinancial Districtl market report showed that prices for luxury Manhattan rentals were considerably higher than they had been the year before. Experts said this indicated how much the real estate market had recovered from the 2007 market crash, but most agreed it was abetted by a particularly scarce rental inventory. And while rental availability always ebbs and flows, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that new rental buildings could literally run out of space. Manhattan neighborhoods are running out of areas currently zoned for residential construction.

Manhattan Rental Deals Are Much Closer Than You Think

Manhattan Valley offer excellent prices for luxury rental apartments.Everyone knows that living in Manhattan is expensive, especially when renting an apartment. While this is true in general, there are exceptions to the rule. Manhattan Valley, an unassuming, quiet neighborhood with a convenient location situated between 100th and 110th Street and bounded by Broadway and Central Park West, has many rental apartments available for prices far below the norm for Manhattan and the neighboring Upper West Side. This neighborhood has had trouble garnering attention among renters of luxury apartments in Manhattan, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t deserve recognition. Manhattan Valley is something of a throwback: A community oriented neighborhood that hasn’t undergone the kind of gentrification that homogenizes neighborhoods and destroys their character. As such, this unique area has some of the best deals in Manhattan, especially considering that many of the rental apartments are condo-quality. And for families or young professionals who don’t mind having roommates, the prices for 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom apartments are astoundingly low.

December Market Report: the Market Goes Home For Christmas

The MNS rental market report for December 2012 is out, and with it come the kinds of numbers we expect to see in the winter months. You may remember from last month that prices hadn’t fallen in November nearly as far as real estate insiders generally expect them to. Part of the reason for this was extremely low inventory, which MNS, in addition to several key real estate industry forecasters, predicts will not change in 2012. But movement did slow down in December as people hunkered in for the holidays, and the numbers show a slight decline.  Throughout Manhattan, average prices for all luxury apartments for rent went down 1% from November rates. Certain Manhattan neighborhoods saw relatively large declines, while others showed very little. Still more neighborhoods saw increases in price, but by lower average numbers than the declines were. That said, prices in December 2011 are on average 8.4% higher than they were in December 2010, suggesting that the rental market overall is stronger than it was a year ago.

Ten23 Gambles By Asking for Expensive Non-Refundable Deposits

Ten23's popularity has allowed it to ask for an unprecedented, expensive depositAs we’ve written about before, West Chelsea is as hot a neighborhood as anyplace in Manhattan, largely because the High Line has exponentially increased its popularity. Ten23 is one of many newly constructed luxury condo buildings in West Chelsea, but unlike most of its competitors, it sits on top of the Highline, literally. Well, maybe not quite literally, but Ten23’s exterior brushes the Highline’s railing; it basically leans over the park, so passersby can look right into the building. Ten23 has actually used this as it’s best marketing tool. Relying solely on word of mouth, Equity Residential has signed 19 leases and has 5 commitments for the luxury building’s 111 units. What makes this especially remarkable is that Equity has asked all these renters for what is likely the most expensive nonrefundable deposit in Manhattan’s history; just to make a commitment, renters must pony up $1,000 that they know they won’t get back. If this doesn’t speak to the unprecedented strength of the Manhattan luxury rental market (especially in West Chelsea), then we don’t know what does.

Two New Rental Buildings Scheduled to Open in 2012

396 Broadway on 92nd St.We’ve written that rental inventory will continue to be scarce in 2012, but we can report that there are two new buildings full of luxury apartments for rent currently scheduled to open this year. The first is the Windermere, located in the Upper West Side at 666 West End Avenue. It’s scheduled to open sometime this month. The other is 396 Broadway, a pre-war in Tribeca that should be finished by the fall. We took a look at these two buildings, to see how the Manhattan luxury rentals will look to the inhabitants who will eventually live in them.

The Windermere is a 23-story pre-war building on 92nd Street, originally constructed in 1927. It boasts 374 luxury units, and a limestone and brick façade. The building was purchased by Stellar Management near the end of 2010 for $68 million, and the company has spent an additional $10 million renovating the space and adding amenities to it. The Windermere now includes wireless internet, a gym, a lounge, and a roof deck.

Asking the Experts: What the 2012 Manhattan Rental Market Will Look Like

In honor of the new year the Real Deal solicited a group of real estate experts and industry insiders to get their opinions on where the Manhattan rental real estate market is headed in 2012. The experts agreed almost unanimously that conditions will be similar to how they were in 2011. Apartments for rent, they said, will still be in the grip of a strong market, and ultraluxury rental apartments will do particularly well. There was general consensus that average rent will either stay the same, or increase slightly over the year. Many experts said that high and stable rents will force condo and co-op prices upward, and most agreed that the rental market would overall be steadier than the purchase market.