In a recent article for Bloomberg News, Oshrat Carmiel wrote that there is a “concession recession” going on in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. Landlords are offering “less sweet deals” to prospective tenants these days while rents are simultaneously rising.
According to Miller Samuel Appraisers and Douglas Elliman Real Estate, shares of leases with concessions fell in all three of these boroughs. Specifically,
- Concessions fell from 37.0% in April to 34.0% in May in Manhattan.
- Concessions fell from 38.0% in April to 33.0% in May in Brooklyn.
- Concessions fell from an eye-popping 45% in April to 33.0% in Queens.
Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel, said, “This is still a market that is recovering and rents are rising, but concessions are part of the fabric of the market. (Concessions) are still in the mix.”
Even with concessions subtracted from “the mix,” median rents in all three boroughs rose for the fifth straight month in March 2019. In Manhattan, rents increased +0.6% from one year ago to $3,413/month. In Brooklyn, rents rise +4.1% to $2,829/month from one year ago. And in Queens, rents rose a whopping +17% to $2,829 as tenants chose to rent apartments in new developments.
The brokerage Citi Habitats reported that rents in every Manhattan neighborhood increased compared to one year ago. Rents in both Soho and Tribeca neighborhoods increased to $6,150/month, a +21% increase. Median rents on the Upper West Side rose +11% to $3,895.
