NYC has always been an expensive place to live—it was even named the most expensive U.S. city for rent—however, many tenants are now facing soaring rents, and they’re only expected to get higher (at least through the summer), reports StreetEasy.
Landlords are now bumping up the asking price to make up for previously offered pandemic-era discounts. A new statistic by StreetEasy shows that “On average, rentals that were listed in 2020 or 2021 and relisted in Q2 2022 showed a 20.4% increase in asking rents per year,” compared to the 4.5% jump from rental units listed in 2018-19 and relisted in 2022. As a result, one third of NYC tenants are being priced out as they face the toughest market in a decade!
Of the available apartments for rent in Manhattan, 44% of them are likely available because their previous tenant could no longer afford the new price tag, reports StreetEasy.
An earlier statistic from the New York Times shows that NYC rent increases are some of the highest since 2013.
According to a report by Douglas Elliman, NYC boroughs have seen a steep increase in year-over-year median rent at near-record levels: Manhattan 19.4%; Brooklyn 11.3%; Northwest Queens 20.8%. Between January 2021 to January 2022, rents rose 33%, according to Apartment List.
And as renters get pushed out of Manhattan, tenants are trying to search for places in the outer boroughs, however, such areas are struggling with available inventory due to high demand. According to StreetEasy, “there were 128,167 apartments available for rent during the fourth quarter [in 2020] compared to 60,966 in 2021.” With less available apartments, renter’s are facing higher price tags.
The New York City Rent Guidelines Board, responsible for regulating rents, recently approved the largest increase in nearly a decade for approximately 2 million New Yorkers in rent-stabilized units. The decision raises one-year leases up 3.25% and two-year leases by 5%. Such a large increase hasn’t occurred since 2013 when there was a 4% increase on one-year leases and 7.75% increase on two-year leases, shared the New York Times.
According to the Rent Guidelines Board, rent-stabilization originated in 1969 as a way to establish affordable housing after rents were rising on post-war buildings. Approximately one million apartments in NYC are rent-stabilized.
Though the five to four vote by the panel may come as a shock to NYC renters, the decision appears to come to a compromise between landlords ask to increase rents and tenants wishes to keep them low.
Many NYC tenants struggled to make rent once the pandemic hit, while landlords were wrestling with rising inflation and costs of building maintenance.
This problematic housing market could take months to rebalance, claims StreetEasy.
Find out more information on the Rent Guidelines Board website.