NY rents notch April record, signaling another hot summer ahead

New York City rents in April notched a new record for the month, signaling an early start to another hot summer for the city’s supply-constrained market.

The median rent in Manhattan hit $4,250 last month, a 3.7 percent increase from March and the highest price since September, according to a report by appraisal firm Miller Samuel for Douglas Elliman.

Demand, meanwhile, skyrocketed. Tenants in April inked 42 percent more leases year over year, making last month’s number of signings the second-highest on record.

Typically, rents tick up through the spring and peak in summer as tenants seize on warmer weather to move house. Last July, the median rent hit a fresh high.

But early trends both in the data and on the ground signal another hot summer is coming.

Report author Jonathan Miller noted rents have risen annually three of the last four months, which “raises the probability” of another record-setting summer.

“We are getting tons of renters looking for June and July — more so than in previous years,” said Hal Gavzie, a leasing broker at Douglas Elliman. 

A dearth of supply and relatively high mortgage rates have continued to buoy city rents. The interest rate on a 30-year mortgage has hovered around 7 percent for most of the year, driving would-be homebuyers to stick to leasing and prospective sellers to hold fast to their current rate. 

“It’s all because rates are stuck at elevated levels, along with a strong local economy,” Miller said. 

Renters in April showed similar love for Brooklyn and Queens rentals. In both boroughs, new lease signings and median rents reached the second-highest levels on record.

Brooklyn’s median rent clocked in at just shy of $3,600; the net effective rent, a measure of leases with discounts, hit $3,564. 

In Queens, the metrics hit $3,244 and $3,214, respectively. Meanwhile, the borough’s market share of bidding wars hit its highest level in nearly one year. 

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