Manhattan median rent climbed to $4,571 in May, hitting a record for the third time
- Queens median rent was $3,625, more expensive than Brooklyn by $5, as per the Elliman Report
Manhattan listings rose to their highest level since the summer of 2021, an increase of 31.2 percent over the previous year, but lease signings were down year over year, a drop of 4 percent.
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It’s painful to be a renter signing a lease in New York City these days. Manhattan median rent for new leases hit a new high in May for the third time in four months. Other rent metrics for Brooklyn and Queens also climbed to new records.
Manhattan median rent reached $4,571 last month, an increase of 7.6 percent over the previous year and a small uptick from April, according to the latest edition of the Elliman Report for the Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens rental markets.
The NYC rental market has seen increased competition and higher rents thanks to nervous buyers putting their plans on hold and opting for rentals, at least temporarily. But another factor appears to be the FARE Act, NYC’s new broker fee law that shifts responsibility for broker fees from renters to landlords. The law took effect Wednesday, June 11th and reports indicate that landlords have been raising rents for new leases to cover the cost of this fee.
A new StreetEasy report found that properties that switched to no-fee ahead of implementation of the FAEE Act increased rents by an average of 5.3 percent, 0.7 percent above the rest of the market. Some brokers told Brick they raised rents higher than that average.
“With the introduction of the FARE Act, we have already seen new highs reached in three of the last four months, yet rents don’t tend to peak until August. Expect more price records in the coming months,” said Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of appraisal firm Miller Samuel and author of the report.
Manhattan listings rose to their highest level since the summer of 2021, an increase of 31.2 percent over the previous year. Lease signings were down year over year, a drop of 4 percent.
While median rent for existing rents remains at a record high, Miller noted, median rent for new development continues to slip. Median rent for new development fell 1.8 percent annually to $5,600 compared to an increase of 7.1 percent for existing rentals. (Developers typically cover the broker fee so the FARE Act would not likely have an impact on this segment of the housing market.)
A record rent per square foot in Brooklyn
In Brooklyn, rent per square foot has seen a record in four of the five months. Rent per square foot in May was $60.77, an increase of 10.7 percent over the previous year. Median rent was $3,650, a 1.4 percent increase from May 2024, according to the Elliman Report.
Brooklyn lease signings fell annually for the first time in 20 months as listings surged by 43.4 percent over last year.
New leases in Queens pricier than Brooklyn
In Northwest Queens, the area covered by the report, all of the ways to measure rents rose year over year and listings nearly doubled. Median rent for leases signed in May was $3,625, more expensive than Brooklyn’s median rent for new leases by $5.
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