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Report: Average NYC Rent Passes $3,000 (If You Don't Count Staten Island)
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jul 9, 2013
Modified Jul 9, 2013
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jul 9, 2013
Modified Jul 9, 2013
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Oh look, another unnecessary real estate report reminding us that yes, New York City is an obscenely expensive place to live. The research firm Reis Inc. has determined that the average rent in NYC last quarter was $3,017 a month. The problem with Reis's average, aside from the fact that it's naturally inflated by the units in the magnificently stern, glass-bound phalluses of the future, is that it leaves out an entire borough! Is America's most fashionable law enforcement officer not a product of New York City?
The report also notes that New York City still has the most expensive rents on average compared to other cities, but again, Reis did not factor in The People's Democratic Republic of Staten Island. "The average New York rent was more than 50 percent higher than second-place San Francisco, where rent grew 1.1 percent from the first quarter to $1,998.82," reports Reuters. "Oklahoma City was the cheapest market, at an average of $571.03 a month, up 0.6 percent." What a deal! And with the money you save living in Oklahoma, you'll be able to afford to scrape up enough cash to move to New York!
Regardless of the report's sensational averages, it goes without saying that New York City is outrageously expensive in almost every way. (Freedom from the burden of car ownership is one important mitigating factor that should be factored into the cost of living here.) But let's not forget that you're paying for location, and the opportunities that this location ostensibly offers—and not just jobs, but culture, history, and recreation. The Metropolitan Museum of Art isn't in Oklahama, it's here, and it's free. You may "never" go there, but part of the reason we endure these rapacious rents is the luxury of knowing that we can.
Neither Reuters nor the Wall Street Journal indicate if the Reis report also includes the more informative median rent for Q2, but you can read the whole report in full here if you pay for a trial membership, which I'm not going to do because I know I'll forget to cancel it and end up paying through the nose for "Metro & Submarket Analysis" I'll never use. And I need that money for rent.
Tagged
living
nyc
real estate
rent
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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