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Time To Make Nice With The Landlord: Manhattan Rents Up 5%
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Feb 11, 2012
Modified Feb 11, 2012
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Feb 11, 2012
Modified Feb 11, 2012
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We're still making fun of people for moving to Brooklyn, but we're eating rice and pinto beans five times a week for the privilege: according to a report released by New York City's largest real estate firm, Manhattan rents went up in January, a time when you can typically count on snagging a deal. "While a few more landlords used incentives to attract clientele…building owners were able to charge more than they did during December, which is unusual for this time of year," Citi Habitats president Gary Malin says in a release. Malin is more blunt speaking to the Times: "Everything at this point is going in landlords' favor."
The report notes that rent for the average Manhattan apartment rose 5% compared to last year, to $3352, despite a slight increase in overall vacancy. If you want a studio in Chelsea, be prepared to shell out $2,491 (and also, are you single?). A studio in the lovely Midtown West will cost you $2211, a record high.
And you can partially blame Frank Gehry's shiny building that you will never, ever live in for jacking up rents in the Financial District. Because those apartments fetch obscenely high rental prices, "it allows us essentially to start raising rents across the board," a totally not-gleeful sounding executive at another firm says.
Suggestions for keeping your landlord from raising rent: baked goods, not leaving a trail of ooze down the stairs when you take out the trash, and blackmailing him about that weird thing he does with his cockatiel on Wednesday nights.
Tagged
insane rental prices
jesus christ it's so expensive to live here
landlords
manhattan
manhattan rents
only in new york
rents
why aren't we buying?
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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