Brooklyn sees big surge in new leases in October

A surge of renters signed new leases in Brooklyn last month – a sign that rising prices citywide are pushing people farther into the outer boroughs.

The number of new rentals jumped 53 percent to 678, according to Douglas Elliman’s monthly rental report, released today. Overall, the median rental price in Brooklyn in October – which had slipped in August and September – rose 5.9 percent to $2,858.

Meanwhile, Manhattan’s median rental price rose 3 percent to $3,246 – or $388 more than in Brooklyn. In October 2013, the spread was $451 spread. In Queens, the median rental price increased 3.5 percent to $2,743.

“The macro overview of all of this is that rents are still rising,” said Jonathan Miller, president of appraisal firm Miller Samuel and author of the report. “Generally, the pressure is still on.”

In Manhattan, the vacancy rate last month was the lowest for October in five years, a function of the tight market, Miller said.

Gary Malin, president of Citi Habitats, which also published a rental report today, pointed out that rising prices in some neighborhoods have impacted vacancy rates. The East Village, for example, had a 2.24 percent vacancy rate in October, the highest in Manhattan, as rental prices for studios reached $2,075 and one bedrooms hit $2,733. “People are more price conscious for space than they’ve ever been,” he said.

Brokerage MNS, in a report also released today, said the largest price change, year over year, occurred in Bay Ridge, where the average rental price jumped 9.3 percent in October to $1,766 from $1,615. In Manhattan, the largest annual change occurred on the Lower East Side, where rents rose 4.1 percent to $3,479, up from $3,343 in October 2013.