(Bloomberg) — Manhattan apartment rents rose last month to a new high for April, an increase that suggests another record-shattering summer to come.
New leases were signed at a median of $4,250, up $9 from last April, according to appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate.
Landlords continue to push prices higher; tenants have no choice but to agree to pay more
Rents now have climbed annually in three of the past four months. As landlords continue to push prices higher and vacancies stay near historic lows, prospective tenants realize they have no choice but to agree to pay more. As usual, competition is only expected to intensify as the weather warms.
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“The question is whether we’re going to beat last summer’s all-time highs,” said Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel. “Based on where we are now, it seems like it.”
The median soared to $4,400 in July 2023, and in the fall declined as much as 9% before beginning to inch upward in December.
The bright side for those who’ll be hunting for apartments in the coming months is that price growth so far this year has been more “moderate” than in 2023, Miller said. Last month’s 0.2% annual increase, for example, pales in comparison with the 8.1% spike reported a year earlier.
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Even as apartments got more expensive, leasing soared, with 42% more deals signed last month than in April 2023. Miller partly attributed the jump to “churn,” as tenants declined renewals to move elsewhere, possibly motivated by a growing number of listed apartments. Inventory in Manhattan rose 23% from a year earlier to 7,996 units.
Rents also hit a record for April in Brooklyn, where the median was $3,599, up 2.8% from a year earlier. In northwest Queens — the neighborhoods closest to Manhattan — the median rent fell 8% annually to $3,244.
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