New York City Rents Smash New Record in February

As the Trump Administration’s tariffs rattle the S&P 500 and stoke fears of recession, New York City renters are buttoning down the hatches in response to mounting uncertainty about where the economy is headed.

Those fears are fueling record rents.

For the first time since 2023, Manhattan’s median rent hit a fresh high of $4,500 in February, according to a report by Douglas Elliman appraiser Jonathan Miller.

The city’s vacancy rate slipped for the fourth-straight month to a pinched 2.4 percent and the number of bidding wars broke a record — one in four units invited such competition.

Demand in the outer boroughs reached a similar fever pitch. The average rental price in Brooklyn topped an all-time high for the second month straight at $4,035. In Northwest Queens, rents topped $3,400, stamping the fourth increase in five months.

The market has tightened as tenants considering homeownership delay their decision amid an uncertain economic outlook. Mortgage rates may have slipped since President Donald Trump took office, but the administration’s erratic policy decisions have obscured projections of where the market is headed.

“The economic chaos of the past couple of months negates the perception of slightly lower rates,” Miller said.

Trump, in his first 50 days, has imposed tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada, promised higher levies, then reversed course on some of those threats.

The whiplash sent markets reeling; the S&P 500 as of Wednesday had lost $4 trillion from its peak last month — an 8 percent decline, Reuters reported. The Nasdaq slipped 10 percent from its December peak last week, entering correction territory.

The Department of Government Efficiency’s cuts to the federal workforce have fueled a sense of instability, which may hold Americans back from making any big life decisions for the near future.

That means February’s record could be the first of many in 2025.

“[The record] suggests that rents may set new highs this year, especially when we reach the seasonal high in the summer,” Miller said.