Average rents in Manhattan in April (courtesy: Citi Habitats)

Rents continue to rise in both Manhattan and Brooklyn, according to monthly market reports from leading residential brokerages released today. And the market is only slated to tighten further, real estate executives said. [more]

From the February issue: There’s been a lot of buzz in the industry lately about the long-hot Manhattan rental market finally taking a breather from its constant rent increases. Indeed, while the rental market is still up about 5 percent year-over-year, it saw a dip in prices between the third and fourth quarters of 2012. This month, The Real Deal talked to rental brokers, firm heads and market analysts to gauge what they’re seeing on the ground and what they make of the recent softening. [more]

As the housing market recovers, a demographic shift is keeping multi-family developers on solid ground. According to NBC News, an increase in the number of educated women is driving the U.S. rental market. With 3 million more women than men in college and 4 million more college-educated women than men in the workforce, women are finding it harder to find a compatible mate, leading to the lowest fertility numbers in U.S. history, according to Buck Horne, a housing analyst at Raymond James. (see video after the jump)

NYC rental buildings

The high demand for rentals following the recession has driven New York City rents steadily upward over the last several years, but there are now signs that the trend could be slowing down, according to the New York Times. Rents in Manhattan dropped to an average price of $3,368 in November, $76 less than in October. Rental prices have now dropped for three consecutive months, albeit the rental market is always softer in winter months, according to Citi Habitats data cited by the Times. And year-over-year, median rents are only 1.5 percent higher, compared to the 10 percent increase in rents posted two years ago and the 15 percent of three years ago. Inventory has also grown, with 13,618 Manhattan apartments for rent in November, a 21 percent increase over November 2011, according to Streeteasy data cited by the Times. … [more]

From the December issue: Hurricane Sandy — the worst storm to hit the Northeast U.S. in decades — sent Manhattan’s residential real estate brokers into a tailspin.

In addition to lost power, water and heat at home, brokers were inundated with calls and texts from clients seeking to be relocated in the wake of the storm. The disruption in Manhattan pales in comparison, of course, to the devastation in parts of Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, where tens of thousands of homes were destroyed or damaged.

But the storm’s effect on the Manhattan real estate market was dramatic nonetheless. [more]

It’s no secret that Hurricane Sandy badly damaged some of Lower Manhattan’s rental properties, but the impact to the rental market in the area was also severe—perhaps even more than previously predicted.

In the weeks following the storm, rental activity dropped 69.8 percent compared to the same period a year ago, according to Jonathan Miller, president of appraisal firm Miller Samuel. [more]

Donald Trump and the unit at 502 Park Avenue

A 7,200-square-foot penthouse at Trump Park Avenue returned to the market today as a rental—with a whopping $95,000 per month asking price—after jumping on and off the rental and sales markets for the past two years, Streeteasy.com shows.

The full-floor condominium is among the top 10 priciest rentals on the market in the city, according to Streeteasy. (The most expensive is a $150,000 per month unit at the Waldorf Towers at 100 East 50th Street.) It’s listed with Michelle Griffith of Trump Sales & Leasing. [more]

Manhattan

Record-low mortgage rates conspired with high rental prices to push additional tenants out of the market in October, as more and more renters looked to purchase homes, real estate executives told The Real Deal.

Overall vacancy in Manhattan was up to 1.39 percent – the highest it has been since February 2010, according to the October rental market report released today by residential brokerage Citi Habitats. Meanwhile, activity was relatively stagnant, with new rental activity increasing a mere 1.2 percent year-over-year, according to figures from brokerage Prudential Douglas Elliman’s report for the same period. [more]

Manhattan

The market for residential rentals in Manhattan is robust, the inaugural monthly rental report from Prudential Douglas Elliman reveals. The average number of days a Manhattan apartment spends on the market year-to-date — 39 per listing — is the lowest average since Jonathan Miller, the author of the report, began tracking rental data 20 years ago. Last year in September, that number was 55, the report shows. [more]

Source: Citi Habitats

Manhattan residential rental rates reached a new all-time high for the sixth consecutive month, according to Citi Habitats’ latest rental report but there could be some signs of relief in sight. The vacancy rate stood at 1.19 percent last month, the highest it has been in the month of August, typically the peak of the rental market, in three years. In August 2011, for example, the vacancy rate was 1 percent.

This marks the second straight month of relatively high vacancy rates, which could be a sign that renters are balking at higher prices. [more]