With asking rents near record levels in August, many Manhattan and Brooklyn renters appear stuck
- Median rent hit $4,900 in Manhattan and $4,000 in Brooklyn last month, slightly less than July
- New lease signings plunged dramatically, indicating that many chose to renew instead of move
Listings plunged 45.3 percent in Manhattan, limiting options for renters.
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Shockingly high asking rents and low inventory likely discouraged many Manhattan and Brooklyn renters from making a move last month.
New lease signings in both boroughs plunged in August, indicating that many chose to renew their leases instead, according to latest edition of The Real Deal Rental Report by Jonathan Miller.
In Manhattan, rents continued to rise at almost double the rate of inflation, Miller said. Median rent increased by 6.5 percent to $4,900 compared to August 2025, the report said, while the U.S. Consumer Price Index inflation rate for August is expected to be 3.6 percent. The result: Renters signing new leases are seeing housing costs eat up a disproportionate share of their income.
However, Manhattan median rent was down 2 percent compared to July, when median rent was $5,000, a record high. But that probably was no consolation since Manhattan listings dropped dramatically last month, limiting options for renters. They were down 45.3 percent compared to the same month last year, the steepest drop in more than three years, Miller’s report said.
Bidding wars for Manhattan rentals
Fierce competition for rentals means some renters will offer to pay more than landlords are asking. More than one in five rentals went for more than the asking rent.
Median rent for luxury apartments in Manhattan was the third-highest on record at $12,823, an increase of 22.1 percent over August 2025, a much high rate than the overall market.
Brooklyn listings fall 34 percent
In Brooklyn, all the ways to measure rents showed increases last month. Median rent was $4,000, reflecting an increase of 1.3 percent from a year ago, but a drop of 11.1 percent from July, when median rent was $4,500, so renters signing new leases caught a small break.
Like the Manhattan market, nearly one in five Brooklyn rentals went for more than the asking rent, Miller said.
Brooklyn listings were down 33.9 percent, limiting options for renters, and lease signings dropped 27.9 percent as a high proportion of renters opted to renew leases and stay in place.
Median rent for luxury Brooklyn rentals, representing the top 10 percent of the market, rose 10.8 percent to $8,200, the report said.
More freebies in August
Along with slightly lower rents, landlords sweetened leases a little more in August. Nearly 17 percent of August listings came with a concession, compared to 9.7 percent the month before, according to a New York City rental market report from apartment listings and review platform openigloo.
The report also offers snapshots of open violations, renewals above the Good Cause rent threshold, and tenant ratings in addition to citywide median rent trends.
In August, a typical concession was $482 monthly, worth about $5,784 across a 12-month lease. Across the city, the typical concession was equivalent to one month’s free rent for a 12-month lease. Concessions were more generous in Brooklyn, where the free-rent equivalent was 1.7 months, the openigloo report said.
However, for buildings protected by Good Cause eviction law, there were fewer incentives. In Good Cause buildings, just 8.3 percent of August 2026 listings advertised a concession versus 28.7 percent for non-Good Cause buildings.
The analysis found that most tenants subject to Good Cause and rent stabilization received compliant lease renewals. But some renters are still reporting rent increases that exceed permitted limits.
Nearly 80 percent of August 2026 renewals in Good Cause buildings were for rent increases below 8.79 percent (the Good Cause standard) and 94 percent of stabilized renewals in August were for rent increases below 5 percent, the report said.
Manhattan vacancy rate sees seven-year low
Corcoran also released Manhattan and Brooklyn rental reports for August, which noted that even though Manhattan rents took a “slight breather” from their July high, rents remain 7 percent above where they stood a year ago.
Active [Manhattan] listings fell to their lowest August level in eight years, while the vacancy rate dropped to just 1.51 percent, its lowest point since 2019, noted Gary Malin, chief operating officer at Corcoran.
“With so few apartments available, renters remain locked in an intensely competitive environment where available inventory commands premium pricing,” Malin said.
Brooklyn’s decline in active listings limited options for apartment seekers and contributed to a drop in signed leases. With limited availabilities, rents climbed. In August, the average rent for a Brooklyn one-bedroom apartment reached an all-time high of $4,357, an 8 percent annual gain that outpaced other unit types, as per Corcoran.
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