Rooting for the Knicks and recalling more affordable NYC rents
- Average rent for a Manhattan non-doorman studio is now around $3,290, as per MNS
- In 1999, the last time the Knicks made the playoffs, average Manhattan rent was $2,696
The Knicks made a historic comeback last night against the Spurs in game four of the NBA finals, so naturally they dominate this month's rental market report.
New York Knicks
New York City rents look nothing like they did back when the Knicks last made the NBA finals.
In 1999, when the Knicks lost to the Spurs in five games, a subway ride cost $1.50, a movie ticket had just gone up to $9.50, you could get a three-course meal for under $25, and the average rent for an apartment (of all sizes) in Manhattan below 96th Street was $2,696 by the end of the year.
Today’s numbers are of course very different. A subway ride now costs $3 and a movie ticket averages $20. Dinner can run $30 to $40 per person before drinks, tax, and tip. And NYC rents are in a different league.
According to the MNS May 2026 Manhattan Rental Market Report, the average rent for a non-doorman studio is now around $3,290 and a doorman average rent is around $4,480. The the average rent for all Manhattan apartments has climbed past $5,200.
Andrew Barrocas, CEO of MNS Real Estate NYC, said qualifying for an apartment in Manhattan today looks nothing like it did when the Knicks last played for a championship.
Today you need to earn over $200,000 to qualify for a Manhattan apartment at the average rent. In 1999, you needed to make half that to meet the standard landlord salary requirement of 40 times the annual rent.
Manhattan listings drop 21 percent
Median rents in Corcoran’s May rental market reports for Manhattan and Brooklyn reflected a similar trajectory. Manhattan median rent reached another all-time high in May of $5,125, an increase of 1 percent from April and 7 percent from May 2025.
Listings dropped 21 percent year over year, the fourth consecutive month of double-digit declines. New lease signings were down 6 percent annually.
Demand continues to outpace a persistently constrained supply environment, said Gary Malin, COO at Corcoran.
“We’re seeing record pricing across multiple unit types, particularly in studios and one bedrooms, as renters compete for a shrinking pool of available apartments. Vacancy remains historically tight and listings are down sharply year-over-year, driven by limited new development, a high rate of lease renewals, and [NYC laws] that have slowed new construction and reduced inventory coming online,” Malin said.
Brooklyn median rent up 6 percent
In Brooklyn, median rent was $4,347 in May, an increase of 6 percent both month over month and year over year, according to Corcoran. This was a new, all-time high, surpassing the previous record of $4,296 set in February.
Listings were down 5 percent year over year, the third consecutive month listings dropped on an annual basis.
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