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

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.

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.