From the March issue: Brokers are quick to note that winter rental numbers are always down, but a comparison of the last two Januarys shows that the seasonal dearth in new Manhattan leases has deepened.
Signed leases for studios and 2-bedrooms were down more than 20 percent year over year and 1-bedrooms were down by roughly 16 percent, a report from Miler Samuel found. “I feel like I’m at a car dealership with 50 Ferraris and 15 buyers,” said Douglas Elliman agent Nima Yamini, adding that prices in the overloaded luxury rental market are too far out of reach for most people on the hunt for an apartment.
In Queens, meanwhile, the supply of rentals up for grabs is virtually non-existent in some places.
A recent report by MNS, for example, found that there was not a single studio apartment for rent in the increasingly popular Ridgewood area during the entire month of January. And there were only three in Jackson Heights.
Not surprisingly, rent rates in both those neighborhoods — which are seeing an influx in investment — are on the rise, jumping 9 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively, over the last year.
“An apartment that was going for $1,500 three years ago is $2,100 now,” said Joe Crifasi of the Queens-based firm Crifasi Real Estate, talking about Ridgewood.
