The Manhattan residential rental market saw an increase in vacancy rates and in incentives for tenants, but rents were up 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]

From left: Clifford Finn of Citi Habitats; Pamela Liebman of the Corcoran Group and Gary Malin of Citi Habitats; Gary Malin, Gabriella Schaefer and Gordon Golub, all of Citi Habitats; Jay Heydt, Elizabeth Hamersley, Tracie Hamersley and Gary Malin, all of Citi Habitats

Tracie and Elizabeth Hamersley of the Hamersley Team at residential brokerage Citi Habitats took home top honors at the firm’s annual awards, held last Tuesday night at a penthouse lounge at 230 Fifth Avenue, at 27th Street.

The pair won awards including Top Team of the Year by overall production, Top Rental Team of the year and Top Sales team of the year. Meanwhile, Rado Varchola, a senior vice president at the company’s office at 250 Park Avenue South, was elected Top Individual of the year by overall production and Top Individual of the year in sales. Top Rental Individual went to Deacon Hoy, director of corporate relocation, also on Park Avenue South. [more]

Landlords continue to have the upper hand when it comes to Manhattan’s residential rental market, according to fourth-quarter reports released today by brokerages Prudential Douglas Elliman and Citi Habitats. The median asking rent climbed 6.6 percent over the last year, and vacancies were filled at a near-record pace, according to Elliman, while both firms reported a sharp decline in concessions. [more]

From left: Halstead Property Development Marketing President Stephen Kliegerman and Citi Habitats President Gary MalinCiti Habitats President Gary Malin and Halstead Property Development Marketing President Stephen Kliegerman whipped out their crystal balls for amNY and noted five trends to watch for in the city’s “booming” real estate market in 2012.

Low interest rates, the strong rental market and the stock market’s daily swings will attract Wall Street investment to new developments, which Malin and Kliegerman say will become more prevalent next year. As for those new buildings, developers will likely offer deals on apartments in buildings that haven’t even begun construction yet in order to kick off sales. [more]

Rents in November (credit: Citi Habitats)

The Manhattan residential rental market has defied seasonal expectations by remaining remarkably stable even as winter approaches, according to a monthly rental market report from Citi Habitats released today. Prices are higher across the board and the vacancy rate is lower than during the past three Novembers, the report shows.

“While we would expect rents to decrease and the vacancy rate to rise from October to November, the city’s rental market truly held its equilibrium,” said Gary Malin, president of Citi Habitats. “People are staying in their current apartments. Rents are up and concessions are way down. If you don’t have to uproot yourself and your family, why would you?” [more]

Gary Malin, president of
brokerage Citi Habitats

At least six new New York City rental websites have launched in the last 18 months, according to Crain’s, as the city’s booming rental market and low vacancy rates drive prospective renters to do what they can to avoid paying broker fees that range from one month’s rent to 15 percent of a year’s rent.

New rental sites include 18-month old UrbanEdgeNY.com, which provides no-fee apartment listings directly from landlords, and NakedApartments.com, where apartment hunters can search for free, but brokers and landlords must pay monthly subscription fees. The new start-ups face the challenge of standing out in a sector that now has around 30 sites, Crain’s noted, including industry fixtures like Streeteasy.com and Craigslist.com, the latter of which is increasingly deemed unreliable by consumers, according to Crain’s.

[more]

Source: Prudential Douglas Elliman (click to enlarge)

In stark contrast from the various economic indicators surrounding it, the
Manhattan rental market showed remarkable stability and strength in the third
quarter. The price of an average Manhattan rental unit increased about 7 percent
from the prior year quarter and remained consistent with the impressive levels
achieved in the second quarter, according to market reports released today by
residential brokerages Prudential Douglas Elliman and Citi Habitats.

“I used to see the rental market as a leading indicator of changing economic
conditions because of how nimble it is,” said Jonathan Miller, CEO of appraisal firm
Miller Samuel who prepared Elliman’s report. “But here the economy is struggling –
or at best, is flat — and conditions are tight in the rental market.” [more]

Even though Hurricane Irene mostly passed over New York without too much damage, there is still lingering concern about what the impact of a larger storm could be on the larger number of developments rising on the New York waterfront, the New York Times reported, as for many the hurricane was the first time many realized they lived in evacuation zone A.

To limit damage from storm surges and flooding, the city’s comprehensive waterfront development plan, “Vision 2020,” recommends the installation of retractable water-tight gates at the entryways of buildings; investing in the maintenance of seawalls and bulkheads; creating “soft edges” along the shoreline that can accommodate surging tides; and restoring or creating wetlands and barrier islands. According to “Vision 2020,” sea levels by 2050 could be 12 to 29 inches higher than they are today. By 2080, they could be some 55 inches higher. [more]

Source: Citi Habitats (click chart to enlarge)

This August, renters finally got some relief from the sweltering summer market, according to
a Manhattan rental market report released today by Citi Habitats. The average rent declined
1 percent from July to $3,350 and the vacancy rate rose to 1 percent, its highest level since
February. Both retreated from near-record strong rates in June and July.

But the market is still tilted heavily in landlords’ favor as rents were up 8 percent from a year
ago and concessions were present in just 4 percent of Citi Habitats’ brokered transactions.

“While the market’s still competitive, those in search of rental housing should have an easier
time securing a home,” said Gary Malin, the firm’s president. “Conditions earlier this summer
were brutal and the market was due for a correction.” [more]

Chart shows average rents among unit types from 2006-2010

The Manhattan residential rental market tanked as suddenly and swiftly as the national economy in 2008, but the country’s stumbling recovery has catapulted that rental market to previous heights, according to a five-year study of rents released today by Citi Habitats (see below).

Average monthly rents of transactions brokered by the city’s largest rental firm below 96th Street in Manhattan sat at $3,724 in 2007 before plummeting to $3,399 in 2009 during the depths of the recession. In June 2011, that figure rose to $3,694 per month, close to the 2007 figure.

“[There's] an increased interest in rental property from those taking a ‘wait-and-see’ approach to the unstable sales market,” Citi Habitats President Gary Malin said. He noted that buyers who would normally make luxury apartment purchases, in particular, are opting for the rental market because of “continued sales market insecurity.”

This pattern is also reflected in vacancy rates, landlord concessions and the percentage of new developments to turn rental for apartments below 96th Street.

Vacancy rates rose to 1.93 percent in 2009 from 0.76 percent in 2006. In June 2011, the rate was 0.69 percent. Similarly, in December 2009, 60 percent of transactions included some owner concession. By October 2010 that number was reduced to 18 percent and as of July 2011 it was just 7 percent. While the number of new rental units brought to the market slowly declined to 2,198 in 2008 from 2,989 in 2006, the number spiked to 3,966 in 2009 before dropping down to 2,280 in 2010.

Throughout the five-year period the Upper East and Upper West sides were consistently the least expensive neighborhoods, while Soho and Tribeca were the costliest.

Big units in Murray Hill and across both sides of Midtown saw the biggest price drops in average rent from 2006 to 2010, as three-bedroom units that in 2006 went for between $4,700 and $6,300 per month on average, dropped to the $3,300-to-$3,700 range in 2010. The Gramercy-Flatiron neighborhood, meanwhile, saw the largest price gain as one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms gained $625 and $750 monthly on average, respectively, despite the overall average monthly rent falling $113 during that timespan.

Citi Habitats 5-year Rental Market Report 2006-2010 [more]