Stefanie Taubman may be an endangered species in Murray Hill.
“I’m from Long Island, so that might be why I moved to Murray Hill,” said Taubman, 23, an actress who rents in a doorman building on East 34th Street. “A lot of people I know live in the neighborhood, and it’s convenient. Also, it was important to my parents that I live in a safe area.”
For years, landlords in Murray Hill, the East Side neighborhood bridging Downtown and Midtown, have banked on tenants like Taubman: twenty-somethings with financial support who want to live in a doorman building.
In today’s white-hot Manhattan rental market, however, many young people can’t afford Murray Hill’s steep rents, and neighborhood landlords are increasingly passing over freshly minted college grads in favor of independently flush tenants with longer rental histories.
Add to that the warm reception for recent condo projects, and it’s clear that the face of Murray Hill is changing.
“A lot of recent college grads are getting priced out of the market,” said David Rabinowitz, an agent with Century 21 NY Metro who specializes in the area. “You see these renters now going to neighborhoods like the Upper East Side, where there’s more inventory.”
According to data from Citi Habitats, in October the average rent in Murray Hill was $2,020 for a studio; $2,809 for a one-bedroom; and $3,946 for a two-bedroom. At 1.25 percent, the vacancy rate was slightly above the already tight Manhattan average of .8 percent.
Elizabeth Hamersley, an agent with Citi Habitats who covers Murray Hill and lives on East 32nd Street, said she and her roommates would not be able to find the same sort of deal today as they did two-and-a-half years ago.
“Our three-bedroom, two-bath apartment cost $3,500 when we moved in,” said Hamersley, 25. “Now it would go for $4,500.”
Hamersley also said many people looking in Murray Hill are ending up on the Upper East Side, but that most of the younger renters she deals with don’t want to live in either neighborhood.
“I am seeing more young people who want to live farther downtown — in the Village, Union Square and Gramercy — than in Murray Hill,” she said.
Whether or not Murray Hill is a first-choice neighborhood, landlords are also finding the manner in which many young people gained a foothold in the neighborhood — by sharing apartments or converting spaces so they have extra bedrooms — less desirable.
“Murray Hill is going through a renaissance from a share capital,” said Sha Dinour, president of Triumph Property Group, the exclusive leasing agent for a number of buildings in the area, including the 300-unit Laurence Towers. “What we’re seeing is that in a lot of the big buildings, there’s been a trend to limit the shares. It makes sense, because if you have a building where you expect between 400 and 600 people to live there, if you allow shares, you’ll see around 1,200 people live there.”
That results in a lot of wear and tear on the building, said Dinour, and as demand for rentals outstrips supply, landlords can afford to go with single renters or families rather than leasing to roommates.
They can also be choosy about their tenants’ income levels, said Robert Kiliman, a principal at ATA Enterprises, which manages Murray Hill high-rises such as the Manhattan Promenade.
“Right now, buildings don’t need to allow shares,” said Kiliman, who also said that ATA has never allowed apartment conversions. “Why make it a dormitory when you don’t have to? You can get solid tenants who have a rental history and don’t need a guarantor, rather than someone who’s fresh out of college and making $35,000 a year.”
While younger renters are being shut out of Murray Hill, a handful of recent condominium projects are also contributing to the neighborhood’s maturation.
Although Murray Hill has been relatively untouched by the city’s recent condo building boom, at least in comparison to neighborhoods like the Financial District or the foot of the Upper West Side, the new condos that are presently being marketed have been well received.
The largest is the Charleston at 225 East 34th Street., which will contain 192 units when it is completed next August.
“We were attracted to the neighborhood because it’s underserved in terms of new condo product,” said David Sigman, a senior vice president at LCOR, the Charleston’s developer. “Sales are going pretty well after getting off to a slow start.”
Sigman said that most of the building’s units are one- and two-bedrooms, and that LCOR doesn’t expect it to be a family building.
In fact, the Charleston’s sales team is trying to lure buyers from nearby rentals.
“We’ve done a targeted mailing to the renters in the buildings in the area that have market-rate rentals, where people might be thinking about buying,” said Karen Mansour of Douglas Elliman, who is heading up the Charleston’s sales. “We’re seeing a big migration of young people to Brooklyn and Long Island City, and we think the Charleston offers them an affordable alternative.”
Sales at the Charleston are averaging around $1,100 a square foot, said Mansour. The building will boast amenities meant to attract younger buyers, including a lounge and a rooftop dog run.
Farther west, sales at the Morgan Lofts, a 68-unit condo conversion at 11 East 36th Street, have also been going well, according to Kathleen Dillon, the Corcoran agent marketing the property.
The conversion, which will be complete by next winter, is about 90 percent sold after going on the market in March, said Dillon. Prices are averaging $1,000 a square foot.
Jared Wiener, director of brokerage services at Triumph Property Group, said his firm is optimistic about the prospects for the Vetro, a new condo project at 107 East 31st Street that Triumph will be marketing and selling.
“It’s an area that’s been appreciating consistently,” said Wiener. “It’s becoming more mature in general.”