Manhattan median rent neared $5,000 again last month as listings plunged
- Listings in Manhattan were down 27.8 percent, contributing to a drop in new leases
- Brooklyn median rent has not fallen in more than two years, as per The Real Deal Report
Rents for Manhattan apartments of all sizes, from studios through three bedrooms, reached new highs in October.
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Manhattan median rent continues to soar while renters compete for fewer apartments
Median rent for new leases increased to $4,965 last month, the second highest on record, according to The Real Deal Rental Report by appraiser Jonathan Miller. He noted that inventory has been falling year over year each month in Manhattan since July 2025, when median rent was $5,000.
Listings in Manhattan were down 27.8 percent from October 2025, which contributed to a 9.8 percent drop in leases signed last month compared to a year ago, a pattern that has been ongoing since March, Miller said in his report.
Rents for Manhattan apartments of all sizes, from studios through three bedrooms, reached new highs in October, with the biggest leap seen in apartments with three bedrooms or more, which are the scarcest. Those large units saw a 25 percent increase in median rent to $9,997.
Brooklyn lease signing rise
It is a similar story in the Brooklyn rental market, where median rent has not seen an annual decline in more than two years, Miller wrote. It was up by 4.6 percent annually to $4,028 in October.
Listings fell dramatically: They were down 68 percent compared to a year ago and 33.5 percent compared to last month. Despite the decline in Brooklyn rental inventory, new lease signings rose annually for the first time since June 2025, increasing by 7 percent.
The share of leases with renters paying more than what the landlord was asking shrank by half—dropping to 15.6 percent from 29.6 percent a year ago.
Queens listing fall 24 percent
For the northwest section of Queens covered by the report (Long Island City, Astoria, Sunnyside, and Woodside) median rent has been rising on annual basis for more than two years. It reached $3,782 last month, an increase of 5.1 percent compared to the previous year.
Listings declined 24.1 percent while new lease signings were 16.4 percent on an annual basis.
Vacant units were snapped up much faster in October compared to a year ago. Days on market was 18 versus 38 in October 2025.
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