NYC Rental Listings Shrinks As Housing Debate Intensifies

Apartment hunting in New York City has never been for the faint of heart — and the latest numbers suggest it’s only getting tougher.

Rental listings across the five boroughs fell about 6 percent in February compared to the same month last year, marking two full years of inventory declines, according to a StreetEasy report published earlier this week. The median asking rent rose more than 8 percent annually to $3,950.

The most recent figures come as all eyes are on the city’s rental market, following a turbulent year for the multifamily industry, including the implementation of the city’s so-called broker fee ban in June and the election of Mayor Zohran Mamdani — who campaigned on policies such as freezing the rent for stabilized properties — in November.

After the ban took effect, brokers, landlords and the industry’s trade group pointed to the law, known as the FARE Act, as the source of rental inventory declines in the city, arguing landlords weren’t allowing agents to list their units to avoid having to pay them a fee.

But others have argued that aside from a temporary and immediate drop in June, inventory levels have steadied, though still in keeping with a downward trend already in the making before the law was passed.

Landlords officially landed in the hot seat in January, when Mamdani took office and began rolling out a series of policies antagonistic to property owners, including the “rental ripoff” hearings — the first of which debuted last month.

Yet one thing Mamdani and the industry seem to agree on is the city’s need for more housing, a necessity underscored in StreetEasy’s report. While the report cites a boom in housing production over the last five years, it also points to lagging new construction in Manhattan and a shortage of apartments with two or more bedrooms.

Of the more than 18,600 new construction rentals completed last year, only around 2,500 were in Manhattan, compared to more than 11,000 in Brooklyn and 3,600 in Queens. New construction rentals accounted for less than 3 percent of rental listings on the market in Manhattan last year, compared to roughly 13 percent in Brooklyn and 12 percent in Queens.

Not so fast…

This resi reporter is back on the beat after five weeks covering the Alexander brothers’ federal sex trafficking trial. That ended on Monday, when Oren, Tal and Alon Alexander were found guilty of sex trafficking and other related charges. The charges carry a minimum of 15 years with the possibility of life in prison, and the brothers’ sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 6.

Though the trial is over, the Alexanders are facing legal woes elsewhere. Their attorneys have indicated they plan to appeal, and Oren and Alon are still facing sexual battery charges in Florida. The brothers are also defendants in dozens of civil lawsuits over rape allegations.

We’ll continue to cover developments in the cases against the Alexanders, but in the meantime, reach out to sheridan.wall@therealdeal.com with any tips, trends or questions you may have about residential real estate in New York.

NYC Deal of the Week

The priciest sale to land in public records this week was for a resale condo at Extell Development’s 157 West 57th Street, which traded for $26 million. The apartment, Unit 65A, last traded in 2017 for $22.5 million. It hit the market in April with an asking price just under $20 million.

The unit spans 4,500 square feet and has four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The deal works out to roughly $5,800 per square foot.