NYC renters care more about price than location: study

The mantra in real estate has always been location, location, location, but a more accurate phrase in New York might be price, price, price, according to a new survey.

The Rentlogic study, conducted in February among 250 renters in the city, found that 96 percent of them had price in their top five priorities when searching for an apartment, while 95 percent put location in their top five. This was followed by cleanliness—94 percent—quality—93 percent—and transportation—92 percent. Only 36 percent put amenities in their top five, despite features such as gyms and roof decks becoming fairly common in newer high rises.

The results also showed that 76 percent of renters have experienced issues with their apartments, with common complaints including pest infestations, loss of heat and leaks, and 24 percent planned to leave their apartment at the end of the lease. The top reasons renters gave for liking their buildings were safety, responsive landlords and functioning heat and air conditioning.

The survey found that most renters want more information about their buildings as well, with 89 percent saying renting would be easier if they had more thorough information about the landlord and 90 percent saying an independent building rating would make them more confident in its quality.