When it comes to renting apartments in New York City, cheaper – albeit less spacious – units are all the rage.
That’s according to real estate portal Realtor.com, which shared its July rent report exclusively with The Washington Post. Among the findings is that in July, the median rent for zero (or studio) to two-bedroom apartments rose 2.2% year-over-year to $3,322, while the median rent for apartments with three or more bedrooms fell 5% to $4,996.
In addition to the noticeable rent increases, Realtor.com also noted that there is “greater demand for smaller rental units” compared to larger apartments.
It also found that demand is increasing in “relatively affordable neighborhoods” – or everywhere except Manhattan.
While the average rent in Manhattan fell for the 13th consecutive month in July – this time by 2% to $4,489, $171 less than pre-pandemic levels – the average rent in Brooklyn rose 3.5% to $3,718, in the Bronx 7.7% to $3,175 and in Queens 8.2% to $3,380.
So to afford the rent for the average apartment in the boroughs while spending no more than a third of gross household income, renters in Manhattan needed to earn $179,560 a year, in Brooklyn $148,720, in the Bronx $127,000 and in Queens $135,200. (Data for Staten Island, the report says, “are currently under review”).
Despite the slight decline in rents in Manhattan, the Realtor.com report found that New York City is still getting more expensive overall – a stark contrast to many other American cities.
“In contrast to the overall declining trend across the 50 largest markets, the median asking rent in NYC continues to increase annually, up $73, or 2.2%, year-over-year,” the report’s authors noted. “Although NYC was one of the rental markets that experienced the sharpest rent declines during the pandemic, the median asking rent recovered to pre-pandemic levels by spring 2022 and has continued to increase annually since then.”
In fact, the median asking rent in July 2024 for all rental properties listed on Realtor.com in the counties was $3,421, 13.7% higher than in July 2019, before the pandemic.
