Manhattan’s net effective median rents increased for the 18th month in a row.
The highest yearly rise in new leases in the previous 19 months occurred in Manhattan, where rents increased by 43.5% year over year.
The median rent in Brooklyn increased 17.2% from one year ago.
According to Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate, net effective median rents increased from a year earlier for the 18th consecutive month in Manhattan as landlords grew less willing to make concessions and renters desperate to find a home amid dwindling inventory engaged in bidding wars.
Rent increased 10.7% from $3,700 in February of last year to $4,095 in February.
The market experiences some form of record every few months, according to Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel. “What’s odd is that every month, it merely keeps bumping up against the record levels instead of climbing substantially upward. It occasionally goes beyond it and other times it doesn’t.
The takeaway from that is that rents, since the summer, don’t appear to show any signs of declining,” he continued.
Listing inventory in Manhattan decreased month over month at a faster rate than the February average over the previous ten years. The most new leases were signed in the past 19 months as a result of a 43.5% increase in new leases year over year.
Increased mortgage rates increased the cost of purchasing and forced many would-be homeowners into the rental market.
Northwest Queens and Brooklyn Adhere to Manhattan Trends
According to Miller, Brooklyn’s median rent increased 17.2% year over year to $3,400, and the surge doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
“One out of every five rentals rented for more than a landmark (rate),” Miller claimed. The market is still extremely tight. Every month, the growth of rental prices either breaks records or approaches them. We are now entering the spring market, where it is predicted that activity will go up during the spring and peak in the summer. In the upcoming months, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some records broken.
At the same time, new leases increased nearly 40% from January to February and 18.9% year over year. Miller said the significant monthly increase is unusual.
Our leasing activity has increased by approximately 39% month over month, and we anticipate a 5% to 10% increase from January to February, he said. “Therefore, the market is extremely strong and there is a large potential demand,”
The median rent in Northwest Queens increased to the second-highest level ever for a February. More than ever, the market was dominated by two-year leases, indicating that tenants were eager to lock in a rate before prices continued to rise.
The median rent increased 12.1% over the previous year to $3,238.
Miller stated that all three markets are essentially doing the same way this month, seeing at or close to record prices while essentially drifting sideways to a record established in the summer.
Inventory is at a low level, and leasing activity is relatively robust. As a result, New York City’s rental market is becoming fairly robust.
In a bidding war, one out of every five Brooklyn rentals
Brooklyn’s net effective median rent ($3,361) was down 2.5% from January but at its highest level for a February on record. For the first time in five months, new lease signings rose annually; they jumped by 38.6% from January.
The most concerning statistic for those looking for an apartment is that one in every five new leases in Brooklyn still involves a bidding war.
The median ($3,238) and average ($3,444) rents in Queens increased to their second-highest levels ever, while somewhat declining from the previous month.
The market share of two-year contracts increased to an all-time high, indicating that tenants are hedging against rent rises. By increasing 31.7 percent from January, new leases hit their second-highest level for a February in history.
A modest rise in the Manhattan vacancy rate
Apartment seekers had a little more breathing room last month compared to January, according to Gary Malin, COO of Corcoran, which also provided rental market figures for Manhattan and Brooklyn for February.
“In Manhattan, the vacancy rate increased from January to February as it took longer for apartments to locate renters and leasing activity slowed. These are all encouraging signals for renters searching for more options and less hectic living situations, according to Malin.
The median rent, on the other hand, has not changed since October 2022, demonstrating that owners are still reluctant to lower prices, he continues, noting that in Brooklyn, “rents in February cooled just enough to encourage tenants to take action.”
NYC areas with the highest rent increases
Additionally, MNS Real Estate published reports on the rental markets in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. The papers examine rents by the number of bedrooms and contrast buildings with and without doormen while drilling down into specific neighbourhoods throughout the four boroughs.
Important findings include: Rents for two-bedroom apartments increased by 19.4% in Soho, from $9,000 to $10,750, representing the neighbourhood with the biggest month-over-month increase. Two bedrooms in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, went from $2,891 to $4,504.
