Home prices in Manhattan plunged -5% while rents hit record highs in August 2019, according to StreetEasy’s latest Market Report. StreetEasy’s Rent Index in August showed that every submarket in Brooklyn and Queens soared along with Manhattan. Significantly, rents in some of each borough’s most expensive areas increased the most.
Northwest Brooklyn had the fastest rate of monthly rent growth in the entire city to the tune of +3.5% at $3,115. Manhattan’s overall monthly rent growth came in at +3.0% to $3,309. Downtown Manhattan’s monthly rent growth was +2.8% at $3,809. Monthly rent growth in Queens was +3.5% to $2,198 and Northwest Queens came in at +2.9% or $2,318.
Meanwhile, NYC sales prices dropped or slowed. The StreetEasy Price Index dropped -2.4% to $6,91,224 in Brooklyn, the most significant drop since 2012. Manhattan’s sales prices dropped -4.9% to a median price of $1,098,104 and sales prices in Queens stalled at a pace not seen in more than five years.
StreetEasy’s senior economist, Grant Long, 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. If rents and home prices continue to move in opposite directions, we may see more investors test their luck in the rental market in the hope of cashing in on the current demand for high-end rentals, bringing some much-needed support to the sales market.”
Overall, NYC rents grew at the fastest pace with the highest rental prices in three years. Landlords are not offering many, if at all, concessions as demand is so high.
Take a look:
Median asking rents:
– Manhattan – +7.5%
– Brooklyn – +15.9%
– Queens – +7.1%
Sales prices dropped:
- Manhattan – -4.9% (matching March 2015 price levels)
- Brooklyn – -2.4% (largest price slide since August 2012)
- Queens – remained the same
Inventory changes:
- Manhattan – +5.9% (slowest since March 2018)
- Brooklyn – +13.6% (but slowest annual inventory increase in 2019)
- Queens – +7.6% (but slowest inventory growth seen in 2019)
Thanks to StreetEasy’s Emily McDonald for source data.
Also read: https://timandjulieharris.com/2019/08/27/july-2019-existing-home-sales-increase-as-mortgage-rates-decrease.html, https://timandjulieharris.com/2019/08/29/realities-about-the-millennial-housing-market.html, https://timandjulieharris.com/2019/09/21/rents-decline-in-top-markets.html
