Rent

Report: Unsurprisingly, the average rent in Manhattan is the highest in the U.S.

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By Emily Myers  |
June 24, 2019 - 10:00AM
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Two-bedroom apartments are the most-searched apartment type, indicating renters are looking to share the cost or live with dependents.

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It’s peak time for rentals and the average rent in Manhattan hit $4,200 last month, not surprisingly, the highest in the country according to new data from listing site, RENTCafe. Rents in Manhattan and Brooklyn are well above the national average of $1,442, a figure that has increased 2.5 percent year over year.

Landlords in NYC may be feeling the pinch of new rent reforms but they arguably have gained the upper hand as potential buyers wait out some of the market’s uncertainty by renting rather than buying. One key indicator of a strong rental market is that concessions have been falling since the beginning of the year—these are the sweeteners landlords offer, like a month of free rent or no broker fee.

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Rents in Manhattan and Brooklyn rank among the 5 highest in the country. 

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RENTCafe’s report found the average rent in Manhattan had increased $82 dollars in the past year. In Brooklyn, the average rent is up $47 year on year to $2,954 which ranks as the fourth highest in the country. The data comes directly from market-rate rentals in buildings of over 50 units. 

Two-bedroom apartments continue to be the most-searched apartment type on the listing site, with almost 44 percent of all searches last month, indicating renters are looking to share the cost or live with dependents. Studio searches made up 12 percent of traffic, one-bedroom apartments a little over 26 percent of traffic, and three-bedroom apartments accounted for 18 percent of all searches.

 

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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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