NYC rent is often a topic of discussion, but when they continue to soar to new heights it’s no wonder why. As New Yorkers we’re pretty good at laughing at our pain, but, at this point, things are getting out of hand.
According to CNBC, the average Manhattan rent just hit a new record of a whopping $5,588 a month–a 9% increase over the last year and a 30% increase compared to 2019 based on data from Miller Samuel and Douglas Elliman.
What’s worse is that this is the fourth time in five months Manhattan has hit a record.
Even median rent prices and prices per square foot have hit new records, coming in at $4,400 and $84.74 per month respectively.
And according to Commercial Observer, Queens and Brooklyn are also reaching peak highs, with rents in those boroughs increasing 17% and 12% year-over-year respectively.
The soaring rents are reportedly due to higher interest rates and low supply, and CNBC reports that Jonathan Miller, CEO of appraisal and research firm Miller Samuel, added that August is typically the peak rental month as families move before the start of the school year.
In other words, we could be looking at a whole other month of breaking records.
And the rising rent prices aren’t discriminating on unit size–rent has gone up 19% for studio apartments while three-bedroom rent prices are up over 36%. Even rent-stabilized apartments are facing rent increases.
The good news is, there may potentially be a light at the end of the tunnel.
According to Commercial Observer, Jonathan Miller from Miller Samuel stated “Leasing activity is declining because I think we’re reaching some kind of affordability threshold. Landlords are pushing prices higher and people are not accepting them.”
So though rents are the highest they’ve been since 2008, we’re reaching a rent ceiling so to speak, and though Miller explains that doesn’t necessarily mean that rents will go down, the “drop in leasing activity means we’re topping out.”
So we can only cross our fingers that at some point NYC rent prices start to decline and we can stop worrying about whether or not buying a slice of pizza will make us go bankrupt.