Manhattan rents are showing more of the same — and “the same” is record-high prices.
The median rent for a brokered apartment in the borough after concessions reached $4,471 in March, the highest it has ever been, according to the monthly city rental report from real estate firms Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel. Concessions include months of free rent and reduced fees.
High mortgage rates have kept would-be homebuyers in the rental market, leading to out-of-peak-season highs, said Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of Miller Samuel and author of the report. Some consumers who have been waiting for mortgage rates to fall have been camping out in the rental market, leading to elevated prices. Crain’s recently reported that first-quarter sales figures, however, show that some holdouts may have stopped waiting and purchased a home.
The record rents are highly unusual considering the season, Miller said. Rental prices typically spike in the summer, as people prefer to move in between school transitions and during warmer weather. Uncertainty in the economy, caused in part by plans for new tariffs on foreign goods, could maintain the upward pressure.
“The higher the mortgage rate, I think it is consistent to say, the higher the expectation should be for rents,” Miller said.
The median price of a Manhattan apartment before concessions reached $4,495, a $5 decline from February’s all-time high. The previous record was set in the summer of 2023. Year over year, the median rent has risen nearly 10%.
“With the uncertainty and the fact that mortgage rates are trending up a bit,” Miller said, “I would think that the pressure on rents will remain throughout for a good part of the year.”
The listing inventory in Manhattan rose 23% year over year, to 9,406 units. The number of new leases signed rose less than that — 9.3%, to 5,220. Renters on average paid 1.1% more than the listing price for an apartment in the borough.
The median price of luxury rentals in Manhattan has been growing slightly faster than that of the rest of the market, Miller said. The top tier of rentals saw the median price grow 10.5%, while the rest of the market grew at 7.7% year over year.
The data in the report is sourced from New York brokerages and is not adjusted for inflation.
In Brooklyn and Queens, meanwhile, rents have also been rising. Brooklyn’s price per square foot reached $60, the third straight month of a new record, Miller said. The median rental price in the borough reached $3,700, a 5.9% rise year over year, but still below the all-time record of $3,950. Renters in Brooklyn paid on average 3.2% more for a home than the listing price, indicating competition.
In northwest Queens, including the neighborhoods of Astoria, Long Island City and Sunnyside, the median rent reached $3,450, a 7.8% rise year over year. Inventory in the region has grown dramatically year over year, with an increase of 66%. However, the number of new leases signed is up only slightly at 5%, coming to 739.
