New York City apartment rents would have to fall by 15 percent for a flood of new supply to be absorbed, according to Richard LeFrak.
“We built a lot of new product at the high end, anticipating incomes that don’t exist in the market now,” the developer told Bloomberg on Wednesday. “We need more affordable product in the market. There’s a huge demand at that price point.”
Rent concessions have been on the rise in Manhattan and Brooklyn as developers try lure renters in pricey new apartment buildings. Despite the sweeteners, asking rents fell by 3.3 percent on average in February, according to Miller Samuel data cited by Bloomberg.
LeFrak, whose firm the LeFrak Organization is one of the city’s largest residential landlords, also advises President Donald Trump on infrastructure. The firm is in contract to acquire the 37-story Dumont hotel in Kips Bay and is considering converting it to residential, The Real Deal reported earlier this week. [Bloomberg] — Konrad Putzier