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NYC Rents Are Rising Rapidly As Luxury Condo Market Dips
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Sep 19, 2019
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Gothamist
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Elizabeth Kim
Published Sep 19, 2019
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As the city’s luxury condo market teeters, New York City renters are continuing to be squeezed by high rents. According to a recent report, New York City rents are rising at the fastest rate since 2016.
The Streeteasy analysis, which looked at monthly data from August, found that rents rose in every neighborhood in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens. The Northwest sections of Brooklyn, including the downtown, Fort Greene, Brooklyn Heights, and Dumbo, experienced the fastest rent growth of any area in the city. Across the board, median asking rents of all apartment listings in those areas rose 3.5 percent over last year to $3,115.
Rents in Fort Greene, for example, were 11 percent higher than last year, at $3,275.
North Brooklyn, where the neighborhoods of Greenpoint, Williamsburg, and Bushwick have had a surge in new development, experienced a 15 percent spike in rents, to $3,450.
Prices across Manhattan were up 3 percent, with median rents on a one-bedroom rising to $3,350, a jump of 7.5 percent.
The Queens neighborhood of Long Island City initially saw a dip in rents after Amazon pulled out of its plans to build a second headquarters in the waterfront neighborhood, but rents have since rebounded: they are up 10 percent to $3,450.
According to the report, renters can partly blame prospective luxury buyers for the upward push in rents. Grant Long, a senior economist for Streeteasy, said, “As a dark cloud continues to hang over the sales market, we’re increasingly seeing those who have the money to buy finding better value in the luxury rental market while they wait and see what happens to home prices.”
In one bit of good news for renters, the state recently announced that brokers cannot charge more than $20 for application fees. The statement amounted to a clarification of the recently overhauled rent laws, which sought to relieve renters of costly upfront application or so-called “processing” fees that can add up to hundreds of dollars.
Meanwhile, New York Magazine has some tips on how to avoid brokers altogether.
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Streeteasy
rent is too damn high
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Elizabeth Kim
Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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