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]

Source: MNS

This month marks the three-year anniversary of the Lehman Brother’s collapse, September monthly rental reports for Manhattan and Brooklyn, released today by MNS, note. Rents in neighborhoods such as Tribeca, Soho and Greenwich Village have fared best during the recovery, mostly maintaining their values, the report shows, increasing by around 13 percent from 2008.

As for month-over-month increases, the report indicates a small degree of positive growth.

“As predicted, this September brought nominal growth in average rental prices compared to August, but the rental market in both Manhattan and Brooklyn continues to be strong,” said Andrew Barrocas, CEO of MNS.

Rents increased 1.3 percent for Manhattan one-bedrooms on a month-over-month basis, 1.6 percent for two-bedrooms, but decreased by 2.7 percent for studios. Prices are up in Manhattan 0.8 percent overall compared to August, with 0.2 percent in non-doorman units and a slight decrease of 0.04 percent in doorman properties. – Katherine Clarke [more]

Citi Habitats today released its annual “Black and White” report,
analyzing the Manhattan rental market for 2009.
The report, which is based on Citi Habitats’ rental transactions, found
that average rents in 2009 were roughly 7 percent less than in 2008,
while the vacancy rate peaked in February at 2.46 percent and had
declined to 1.84 percent by December. The overall average vacancy rate
for 2009 was 1.93 percent, up from 2008’s 1.42 percent, according to the
report. Studios in Manhattan rented for an average of $1,757 in 2009, down 6.7
percent from $1,834 in 2008, according to the report. One-bedrooms went
for $2,406, a drop of 6.7 percent from $2,608 in the previous year.
Two-bedrooms averaged $3,411, 7.8 percent less than $3,700 in 2008, and
three-bedrooms were $4,560, down 6.9 percent from $4,898. February was a low point, when the aftershocks of the Lehman Brothers
collapse were being keenly felt and “people were the most fearful,” said
Gary Malin, president of Citi Habitats. [more]

Click chart for larger version. (Source: Citi Habitats)

Manhattan rental transactions surged in the fourth quarter of 2009, while rents dropped modestly, according to market reports released by two large city brokerages today (see full reports after the jump). A marketwide report released by Prudential Douglas Elliman estimated that the number of rental deals in Manhattan leaped 47.6 percent to 2,456 in the fourth quarter, from 1,665 in the same period of 2008. Citi Habitats, the city’s largest rental brokerage, said it did more than 2,600 transactions in the fourth quarter, an increase of 30 percent from roughly 1,800 in the prior-year-quarter.
(In a market where rental data is notoriously difficult to obtain, firms use different data to compile their reports.) Moreover, listing inventory dropped 21 percent to 5,255 units, from 6,640 during the fourth quarter of 2008, according to the Elliman report, which was prepared by appraiser Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of real estate appraisal firm Miller Samuel.
The upswing in activity “is a positive development, and we’ll take it,” Miller said, though he noted that the fourth quarter of 2008 saw particularly low levels of activity because of the Lehman Brothers collapse.
“There was clearly a surge in activity coming from a very low point from this time last year, which was post-Lehman,” he said.
Rental prices, meanwhile, are lower than last year, but not drastically so.
Citi Habitats, which only tracks apartments rented by its own agents, said average rents fell between 5.8 and 7.3 percent year-over-year, and dipped 1.5 to 3.3 percent from the third quarter. [more]