Manhattan

The Manhattan residential rental market saw rents increase across all apartment categories, the vacancy rate drop, and concessions recede in April, according to the monthly rental market report from Citi Habitats released today. “If we are able to get these rents and the demand is what it is it really does speak to the economy’s strength,” said Gary Malin, president of Citi Habitats. “In the end, if you want to be in Manhattan, sacrifice is par for the course.” [more]

Manhattan rents in the first quarter of 2012 broke records set before the economic crash, according to market reports released today by residential brokerages Prudential Douglas Elliman and Citi Habitats, and experts attribute the increase to tight credit markets that have prevented tenants from entering the sales market.

The average monthly Manhattan rent reached $3,650 in the first quarter, a 6 percent increase over the $3,445 average during the same period last year, according to the Elliman report, which uses industry-wide data compiled by Jonathan Miller, the president of appraisal firm Miller Samuel. The number of rental transactions also increased, jumping 14.3 percent to 7,642 units from 6,665. [more]

Source: RentJuice

Asking rents in several “trendy” and traditional Manhattan neighborhoods slumped even as the city’s average asking rents increased 7 percent in the first quarter, according to a market report released today by online rental management firm RentJuice. Meanwhile, rents in key Brooklyn neighborhoods skyrocketed.

The average asking rent in Gramercy plummeted 29 percent quarter-over-quarter to $3,846, the figure fell 8 percent in the East Village to $3,859, and stumbled 7 percent in the Upper West Side to $4,406. At the same time, just south of the East Village asking rents increased 9 percent on the Lower East Side to $3,095 and just east of the Upper West Side average asking rents grew 7 percent to $4,103. [more]

Source: MNS

Rental prices in Brooklyn continue to escalate rapidly, as one- and two-bedroom apartments in the borough saw year-over-year rents increase 7.5 percent and 10.2 percent, respectively, according to a February market report released today by brokerage MNS. Studio apartments experienced a 2 percent decline in that same time frame. [more]

(source: MNS)

The Manhattan rental market is so strong that it’s broken free of the shackles of seasonality and continued its uninterrupted growth, according to market reports released today by brokerages Citi Habitats and MNS.

The average Manhattan monthly rent was $3,376 in February, according to Citi Habitats, which bases its data on deals its brokers facilitate. That’s just $18, or less than 1 percent, below the all-time peak recorded by the primarily rental brokerage in May 2007. [more]

(source: MNS)

Compared to the average residential rent increases MNS saw in its recent annual report, the brokerage’s new January data show a slight decrease in Brooklyn rents month-over-month, while year-over-year numbers were more positive.

Between December and January, Brooklyn rents dropped an average of $10 per month, according to the January Brooklyn rental market report released today. [more]

The Manhattan residential rental market saw an increase in vacancy rates and incentives for tenants, while rents rose from December, in what is usually the slow-as-molasses month of January, according to a monthly rental market report from Citi Habitats released today.

“Absent any seismic changes I think it’s just going to be another strong, stable market for the landlord [this year],” said Gary Malin, president of Citi Habitats. “It would take a real change in the economy to change [the market] to the tenant’s favor.” [more]

Long Island City prices (source: Modern Spaces)

For the first time in several years, Long Island City apartment sales prices rose across the board in 2011 and buyers put a premium on larger units, according to a year-end report released yesterday by Modern Spaces.

The average price per square-foot of a studio increased 3.6 percent from 2010 to $697.45, and the average price paid per square-foot for a one-bedroom jumped 3.4 percent to $700.94. But the biggest increases occurred in the two- and three-bedroom sectors. [more]

Aerial view of Brooklyn

Brooklyn rents grew at an average rate of nearly 6.58 percent last year, compared with 0.37 percent in 2010, according to MNS’ first annual Brooklyn Rental Market Report for the year. One-bedroom average rents saw the largest increase, at 9.59 percent, while studios had the most modest gains at 4.13 percent.

Average rental prices for Brooklyn studios have increased by only $47 per month from August 2009 to December 2011, and remain firm around $1,700 per month, the report says. But overall 2011 showed very steady growth in Brooklyn, with December 2011 showing the highest average rental prices in the borough since MNS began keeping track, in August 2009. [more]