Manhattan rents plunge as coronavirus drives vacancies to record

FAN Editor

Record vacancies dropped Manhattan apartment rental prices to their lowest levels in seven years as tenants continued to flee the city amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Continue Reading Below

The ability to work from home during the pandemic has caused many New Yorkers to flee Manhattan for the more socially distant suburbs.

The number of apartment listings tripled from a year earlier to 15,923, the most since record-keeping began in 2006, according to a report released Thursday by appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate. The vacancy rate reached 5.75%, a fifth straight month with a record.

CHEAP DOLLAR WON’T REVIVE NYC REAL ESTATE MARKET ANYTIME SOON

“New leases reached their prior-year level as vacancy rates and listing inventory set new records,” said Miller Samuel CEO Jonathan Miller.

A record 55% of new leases signed in September received landlord concessions, enticing renters with free rent, payment of broker fees and other incentives.

Including those freebies, median rent fell 11% year over year in September to $3,036 per month, the lowest since July 2013. Prices were down 4% from August.

BILLIONAIRE JEFFREY GUNDLACH SLAMS CALIFORNIA OVER TAXES, MAY LEAVE STATE

Studios saw the biggest decline in rents with the median price down 13% from a year ago to $2,350 per month. One-bedroom prices fell 11% to $3,195.

A morsel of strength appeared in two-bedroom pricing, where the median edged up 0.6% to $4,400.

The luxury market, which accounts for the top 10%, offered far fewer concessions and prices slid 3% year-over-year to a median $8,216.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS

By location, Northern Manhattan saw the biggest price decline with the median off 9.9% to $2,208. Prices on the West Side fell 9.6% to $3,300 and Downtown dropped 7.8% to $3,595. On the East Side, prices were off 5.3% to $3,079.

Free America Network Articles

Leave a Reply

Next Post

Nobel Prize for Literature awarded to former US poet laureate

Louise Glück has published twelve collections of poetry. October 8, 2020, 11:15 AM • 6 min read Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Email this article LONDON — The 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to the American poet Louise Glück “for her unmistakable poetic voice that with […]