The Manhattan residential rental vacancy rate hit 2.36 at the end of the first quarter, up from 1.3 percent year-over-year, according to the quarterly rental market report from rental giant Citi Habitats, released today. The first-quarter vacancy rate was highest in the East Village at 2.97 percent, and lowest in the Soho and Tribeca area at 1.82 percent.
While the vacancy rate rose, rents dropped.
The average first quarter rental price for a Manhattan studio was $1,771, a 4.2 percent drop from the average of $1,849 in the first quarter of 2008. The average for a one-bedroom apartment was $2,432, a 6.7 percent drop from last year’s $2,608. Two-bedroom rents dropped 3.5 percent to $3,522 from $3,648, and three-bedroom average rents declined 2 percent to $4,573 from $4,665.
“We’ve had an adjustment based on what’s going on in the world,” said Gary Malin, president of Citi Habitats. But Manhattan’s vacancy rates, he added, are still much lower than the national average. TRD