NYC Rents, Already in Stratosphere, Rise Anew in November

For New York City renters expecting rents to fall from their Mt. Everest levels, keep waiting.

The median Manhattan rent rose 2.1% in November after three straight month-on-month declines according to appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate. At $4,095, it's the third-highest Manhattan median rent ever recorded and 18.7% up from a year ago. In Brooklyn, the median rent fell 5.6% from October, to $3,300, while in Northwest Queens, the part closest to Manhattan, the median fell 10.8% to $2,990.

"Renters want it to be a turning point, and I think the world thought it was a turning point in July when rents looked like they had peaked," Miller Samuel President Jonathan Miller said in an interview. "But they’ve been drifting sideways, and this month had a slight bump. Any hope for near-term affordability depends on a recession, and who wants to hope for that?"

Sky-high rents are discouraging prospective renters, who may choose suburban options or stay with family. Leasing slowed in November across New York, as the overall number of signings down by 38.6% in Manhattan, about 26% in Brooklyn and 25% in northwest Queens. The biggest declines in leasing were at the lowest end of the market, particularly in Brooklyn and Queens, a sign that renters are getting priced out, according to Miller.

"While rents have stopped rising for the most part, that has not signaled that rents will fall," Miller said. "The opposite of rising rents is not falling rents, it’s stabilizing rents, and that's where we are, at a very high level. That’s a challenge for any city where its workers can’t afford to live."

In Manhattan, median rents were $2,900 for a studio, $4,000 for a one-bedroom, $5,500 for a two-bedroom, and $7,925 for a three-bedroom, the report showed. The median rent for a luxury apartment, defined as the top 10% of the market, was $11,500 a month, down 11.5% from October.

One sign that the market may be starting to ease is the number of concessions, such as free months' rent, that landlords granted in November. About 16% of new Manhattan leases included concessions, compared with 13% in October.