Discounts are getting harder to come by in Battery Park City.
Rental price drops in the neighborhood decreased by 14 percent year-on-year to 74 transactions, according to Platinum Properties‘ second quarter report. The decline is more pronounced on a quarter-to-quarter basis, with the number of discounts dropping by 77 percent over the first quarter.
The dearth of discounts coincided with price growth in the neighborhood. During the quarter, the median rent in the area rose to $4,938, up 2.3 percent from the same time last year. Meanwhile, the average rent increased by 3 percent to $5,121. In spite of the price hikes, the number of units that were rented rose significantly. There were 196 apartments that were rented, up 92.1 percent from the same quarter last year.
The biggest bargains in the area were two-bedroom units. For the quarter, the median rent for the segment dropped by 10.4 percent to $6,653. The average rent for the category also dropped 7.9 percent to $6,973. One-bedroom apartments, meanwhile, posted the highest price hike in the neighborhood. During the quarter, median rent for one-bedroom units in Battery Park City rose by eight percent to $3,830.
The neighborhood’s residential sales market posted similar numbers in terms of price drops. During the quarter, the average discount in the area stood at -2.3 percent, down 12.4 percent year-on-year and 68.7 percent from the previous quarter.
During the quarter, one-bedrooms units, which accounted for 35 percent of al units sold in the neighborhood, posted a 15.29 percent increase to $815,645. The biggest bargains were three bedroom units and larger, which posted a 9.3 percent decline to $2.9 million, followed by two-bedrooms, which registered a 2.9 percent to $1.8 million.
The median price for a home in Battery Park City stood at $1,575,000, a 3.6 percent increase from the same time last year. Khashy Eyn, the founder and CEO of Platinum Properties, attributed the price increase to limited development. “It’s the rule of economics,” he said. “There’s nothing else to build. I think there’s no more land in Battery Park City.”