We all know living in NYC isn’t cheap and that soaring rents are pricing out a third of tenants, but according to reports, NYC rents actually reached record highs and near-record highs in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens last month.
A new report from Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel tracks Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens rental prices back to January 2020, and the results are astonishing–though sadly not surprising.
The numbers show Manhattan rent peaking in July of last year, making it the first time it’s hit $4,000/month. The median rent rose 15.4% annually, reaching a shocking $4,097 in January 2023–the third-highest on record and 14% higher than pre-pandemic levels. In comparison, median rent in January 2022 was around $3,500/month.
Median rental prices in Manhattan this past January were as follows:
- Studio – $3,000/month
- 1 bedroom – $4,000/month
- 2 bedroom – $5,532/month
- 3 bedroom – $7,100/month
And, as rent rose, vacancy rate slipped for the first time in nine months, increasing from 1.70% in January 2022 to 2.52% in January 2023.
As for Brooklyn, the average rental price jumped from $3,162/month in January 2022 to $4,165/month in January 2023, a whopping 31.7% increase–the second highest in history. The average rental price per square foot jumped 26.5% annually to a new record of $55.64.
Median rental price just missed tying the August record by one dollar, which was 17.1% above pre-pandemic levels.
Median rental prices in Brooklyn this past January were as follows:
- Studio – $2,913/month
- 1 bedroom – $3,200/month
- 2 bedroom – $3,900/month
- 3 bedroom – $4,300/month
Northwest Queens saw the highest median rents on record, jumping 14.2% from last year and clocking in at $3,369/month compared to last year’s $2,950/month.
In Queens the number of new leases declined annually by 6.2% to 379, though it remained 23.1% above pre-pandemic levels and represented the third monthly increase in four months.
Median rental prices in Queens this past January were as follows:
- Studio – $2,995/month
- 1 bedroom – $3,314/month
- 2 bedroom – $4,725/month
- 3 bedroom – $3,650/month