Key Highlights
- Q3 2020 first time Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens all recorded y/y rent declines since 2010, according to StreetEasy
- Median asking rent for Manhattan apartment dropped below $3,000 for first time in nearly a decade
It’s no longer surprising to hear about rents dropping in New York due to surging inventories and tenants reprioritizing their working and personal lives. However, we have just learned, according to a new report from StreetEasy, that the median asking rent in Manhattan just dropped below $3,000 for the first time in nearly a decade.
Manhattan’s median asking rent is not the only borough in New York City to see rents falling. Along with median monthly rent falling -7.8% to $2,990 in Manhattan, Brooklyn’s median monthly rent fell -2.5% to $2,559 and Queen’s median monthly rent fell -2.2% to $2,200. (Citywide, the median rent across NYC was $1,467/month, according to the New York University Furman Center.)
According to StreetEasy economist Nancy Wu, “This is the first of many milestones to come, in terms of Manhattan’s rental market being turned on its head.” Wu expects prices to continue falling as both veteran and new-coming renters are choosing not to pay a premium to be close to Midtown offices.
A recent report from Douglas Elliman indicated that there were almost 16,000 listings in Manhattan last month, a 14-year record high and over 3X the supply last year at the same time. StreetEasy indicated that at the beginning of Q4 there was a comparable surge in listings. Such vacancies are pushing the median discount on Manhattan rentals to -9.1% less than the initial asking price or a median monthly discount of $272. (Likely, actual rent declines are deeper since landlords almost never disclose final negotiated rent prices.)
Thanks to StreetEasy, Douglas Elliman and the New York Times.
Also read: Where Rents Increased & Decreased in 2019 and Into 2020, Rents Decline in Top Markets, Best Place to Buy a Vacation Home in 2020
