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Manhattan Rents Hit All-Time High, But Vacancy Is Rising!
By
Garth Johnston
Published Sep 13, 2012
Modified Sep 13, 2012
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Sep 13, 2012
Modified Sep 13, 2012
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Sure, there are anecdotes of apartment renters priced out of Brooklyn moving back into Manhattan but the reality is that Manhattan is still a very, very expensive place to live. And according to a new report from Citi Habitats that is still the case: Rents in New York County hit an all-time high in August—despite vacancy rates hitting a three-year high at the same time.
Time for some numbers! In August vacancy in Manhattan went up one percent from the year before to a still impressively low 1.19 percent (the rate was .88 in August 2010 and 1.62 in 2009). Meanwhile, though while apartment and home sales have been pretty stagnant the average rent in Manhattan went up to $3,461 a month—the highest since Citi Habitats began tracking the data in 2002.
More specifically? The rent for a studio apartment was up one percent from July to an average of $2,092 per month, one-bedrooms were down one percent to an average $2,785 per month, two-bedrooms were up one percent to $4,032 per month and three-bedrooms stayed pretty flat at an average of $5,320 per month.
So where, you might wonder, is there any place left to live? Well, the borough's former crown jewel, the Upper East Side, currently has the highest vacancy rate (1.6 percent) followed by that other old stalwart, the Upper West Side (1.38 percent). As for the lowest vacancy rate? That'd be the Gramercy area with .76 percent.
Meanwhile, according to Citi Habitats President Gary Malin those vacancies could actually be good for renters looking this Fall. "We are currently experiencing the best conditions for apartment seekers that we have seen for several months," he says. "Rents may decrease and incentives will likely creep back." Still probably cheaper to live in an outer borough!
Tagged
citi habitats
manhattan
real estate
rents
Garth Johnston
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