The Market

NYC rents rose in December, and some sellers are opting to become landlords for now

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Headshot of Emily Myers
By Jennifer White Karp  |
January 9, 2020 - 12:00PM
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December median rents were up for Manhattan and Brooklyn significantly. In Queens, the median rent was up, but only slightly.

Mimi O'Connor for Brick Underground/Flickr

The combination of New York City’s slow sales market and brisk rental market is encouraging some sellers to become landlords. 

Rents rose across all price indicators last month, according to Douglas Elliman’s December 2019 rental market report for Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, fueled by the continued weakness in the sales market.

Median rents were up for Manhattan and Brooklyn significantly. In Manhattan, the median rental price rose by 6 percent to $3,499, and in Brooklyn, the median rental price was up 9.2 percent to $2,991.

There was an even more pronounced 10 percent jump in Brooklyn’s net effective rent (which factors in concessions like free months).

Would-be buyers, anxious about the cap on state and local tax deductions, a new hike for the mansion tax, the economy, and now the upcoming election are taking a wait-and-see attitude in hopes that prices will fall further and have been parking themselves in rentals for several quarters.

Now sellers (who can afford to) are also playing the waiting game and jumping into the rental market.

Most luxury rentals are found in new development rental buildings but Jonathan Miller, president, and CEO of appraisal firm Miller Samuel and author of the report, is seeing sellers put their individually owned apartments on the rental market, encouraging more leasing activity at the high-end. 

“Owners think the market will come back so they are not going to sell the unit [now],” he says.

Another hallmark of the current rental market: Hefty declines in the number of new leases. With rents rising so much, landlords have been effective at retaining tenants at lease-renewal time, because tenants don’t see better deals elsewhere. New leases fell 13 percent in Manhattan and dropped 11.4 percent in Brooklyn.

While still available for some leases, concessions continue to slip, as landlords feel less pressure to offer deal sweeteners: You’re more likely to get a free month or owner-paid broker fee in Manhattan, where 40.3 percent of new leases came with a concession, compared to 36 percent in Brooklyn. 

A different story in Queens 

Queens renters who signed new leases last month got a small break. The median rent was up, but only slightly—by 8 percent to $2,795.

The share of new leases with concessions was 54.2 percent, up from 52.8 percent a year ago—this was the first year-over-year increase in five months.

Landlords are retaining more tenants in Queens—this was the fifth straight decline in new leases.

Other market reports

Citi Habitats released its December and fourth quarter 2019 rental market report, which found that landlords still hold the upper hand.

“The market has shifted in favor of landlords when compared to a year ago,” says Gary Malin, president of Citi Habitats. “The ongoing uncertainty in the city’s sales market continues to boost the long-term demand for rentals. When in doubt, people rent.”

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Jennifer White Karp

Managing Editor

Jennifer steers Brick Underground’s editorial coverage of New York City residential real estate and writes articles on market trends and strategies for buyers, sellers, and renters. Jennifer’s 15-year career in New York City real estate journalism includes stints as a writer and editor at The Real Deal and its spinoff publication, Luxury Listings NYC.

Headshot of Emily Myers

Emily Myers

Senior Writer/Podcast Producer

Emily Myers is a senior writer, podcast host, and producer at Brick Underground. She writes about issues ranging from market analysis and tenants' rights to the intricacies of buying and selling condos and co-ops. As host of the Brick Underground podcast, she has earned four silver awards from the National Association of Real Estate Editors.

Brick Underground articles occasionally include the expertise of, or information about, advertising partners when relevant to the story. We will never promote an advertiser's product without making the relationship clear to our readers.

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