Rental season expected to be slow
May 18, 2009 08:40AM
Marc Lewis
Brokers predict that the New York City rental market's peak season from May to September, which is driven by recent college graduates and new hires, will be slower this year. "We don't expect to see a normal summer, where rents are driven up by people bidding up," said Marc Lewis, president of Century 21 NY Metro. "A lot of college kids are not finding jobs, and landlords are competing for a smaller pool," Lewis said. Danni Tyson, an agent at Halstead Property, said recent graduates have started turning up, but aren't coming with the same kind of money they had last year, when Wall Street gave salaries of some $60,000 a year and $10,000 in moving fees. Brokers say graduates with limited funds may benefit from the current weakness in finance as rents fall and landlords offer concessions like paying broker fees and months of free rent. [NYT]
The Real Deal reserves the right to delete any comment it finds to be rude, obscene, racist, sexist, bigoted, irrelevant or repetitive, as well as inappropriate comments about anyone's personal appearance or advertisements. The Real Deal does not endorse any comments posted on its Web site nor does it verify the veracity of comments or the identity of posters.
Comments
Anonymous
There's probably going to be a significant outflow all of those leases expire and people start moving back to their parents' houses.
Comment #1 Posted By: Anonymous 05/18/09
Anonymous
This will be one of the most interesting rental seasons in a long time. It will be interesting to see what the unemployed do - do they stay in Columbus Ohio and try to find a job, or do they realize there is no work at all in Columbus and their best bet to find work is to move to the city. For those already here, are they really going to move out knowing that wherever their parents live won't produce a job for them. Also interesting is the unskilled immigrant population. Are they moving here or moving away from here. Finally, it will be interesting to see how all of this new supply gets absorbed. Condos converting to rental should be a big story. Do lots of people chose to trade up or will the condo owners get crushed? Time will tell.
Comment #2 Posted By: Anonymous 05/18/09
Anonymous
I don't forsee many people renting a 2k apartment in Manhattan and hoping to find a job. NYC is too expensive to live unemployed unless there's significant cash in the bank. I doubt that holds for many people in places like Columbus.
Comment #3 Posted By: Anonymous 05/18/09
Anonymous
#3 of course few unemployed will pay 2K. But they will find a roommate share for $500/month while they look for work. They'll try to find temp work in the mean time to cover their $500 rent. For many, it may be the best option. With 600,000 people losing their jobs each month, the competition is fierce for work. NYC may provide the best options.
Comment #4 Posted By: Anonymous 05/18/09
One that know
It is going to be a great summer for R E agents NO FEE NOFEE NO FEE rental see you in September mark
Comment #5 Posted By: One that know 05/18/09
Marc Lewis
I was taken out of context by this very good writer in that I said to her " I dont expect enough new tenants to bid up rents"! I never said I expected it to be slow as it is anything but slow in our office now! Rent not being bidded up and less new tenants is good news for people looking but not great for owners who have many empties. We expect it to continue to be very busy but with lower price points and lower fees but the volume more than makes up for it as it feels like July not May now.
Comment #6 Posted By: Marc Lewis 05/18/09