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2010 residential rental market to start off slow
Source: TDG/TREGNY
The 2010 rental market is expected to start off slow, though there is potential to see a return to stability, according to the 2009 year-end report from TDG/TREGNY, released today (see full report below).
The Manhattan Rental Market report, which conflates the group’s monthly Manhattan rental market reports, shows that seasonal rental trends were less noticeable in 2009 than in other years, with the summer showing only a slight uptick in activity compared to the rest of the year. Crucial to the rental market’s future improvement, the report says, is how other segments of the Manhattan economy perform in the coming months.
“The most important factor for a market improvement is employment,” the report says. “As it steadily improves, we can expect the rental market to do the same.”
Overall, the 2009 rental prices show downward momentum from 2008. Rents on doorman studios declined the most year-over-year, with average rents last year clocking in at 8.12 percent lower than 2008. Doorman units saw significant declines in rent due to renters’ interest in finding bargain homes, according to the report.
“[The] desire to be more frugal during the recession led to significant discounts in doorman properties,” the report says. “Landlords chopped rents and added incentives to make these units appeal to value-minded shoppers.”
Although non-doorman unit rents declined as well, with two-bedroom rents dipping 6.19 percent, the decline year-over-year was not as significant as what was seen among doorman units, according to the report, which utilizes a cross-section of over 10,000 listings in order to determine its findings.
Officials at TDG/TREGNY did not immediately respond to a request for comment. TRD