Manhattan median rent at record high $5,000 for the second month in a row
- A slightly higher Manhattan vacancy rate may indicate some renters have ‘sticker shock’
- Brooklyn’s median rent increased 4 percent to $4,150, a record for the month of March
It was the 19th consecutive month to see a drop in Manhattan inventory and available listings reached the lowest level in four years.
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Were some Manhattan apartment hunters so shocked by March’s record asking rents that they walked away from available units? That’s what last month’s slightly higher vacancy rate would seem to suggest.
For the second month in a row, Manhattan median rent hit $5,000 a month, a record high, according to Corcoran’s latest rental market reports for Manhattan and Brooklyn.
The rental market “remained incredibly inventory constrained,” said Gary Malin, COO at Corcoran, in his firm’s report. It was the 19th consecutive month to see a drop in inventory and available listings reached the lowest level in four years—yet Manhattan’s vacancy rate moved unexpectedly.
The vacancy rate measures the share of total rentals that are unoccupied and available. In Manhattan, it typically hovers at crisis levels—somewhere between 1 and 2 percent (anything below 5 percent is considered a housing emergency).
“Despite the contraction of new listings, the vacancy rate ticked up slightly versus February and year‑over‑year, as some sticker shocked renters allowed what was on offer to accumulate,” Malin said. The Manhattan vacancy rate was 1.88 percent in March, a slight increase compared to February (1.73 percent) and March 2025 (1.74 percent).
There’s still plenty of demand, as usual: The number of new signed leases rose 5 percent year over year from last year’s five-year low. However, activity remained about 9 percent below the historical average for March, the report said.
New March record for Brooklyn rents
Brooklyn’s median rent increased 4 percent year over year to $4,150 (down slightly from an all-time high in February but still a record for the month of March). Listings fell 8 percent on an annual basis.
And last month, Brooklyn experienced the strongest month for new signed leases since 2021, according to Corcoran. Leasing was up 13 percent from February and 5 percent annually.
Renters “still find relative value in Brooklyn, but conditions are becoming increasingly competitive,” Malin said.
Looking ahead, he said a lack of listings will likely push rents for new leases higher in the summer.
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