NYC rents soar as Covid deals die

April notched greatest annual decline in listing inventory on record

(iStock)
(iStock)

Rents in New York soared so high in April that even discounted leases hit new heights.

Net effective median rent on a unit with concessions in Manhattan hit a new high last month at $3,870, according to a monthly report by appraisal firm Miller Samuel for Douglas Elliman. The price point marks the highest annual surge rate on record — nearly 39 percent above April 2021 levels.

That increase comes as so-called Covid deals that drew tenants back to the city last year continue to expire.

Concessions aside, Manhattan median rents notched a fresh high of $3,925 in April, surging over 6 percent to outshine the previous record of $3,700 held in February and March.

Listing inventory slipped for the tenth straight month on a year-over-year basis, falling 77 percent from April 2021 levels. Report author Jonathan Miller called the drop the most significant annual decline for the month on record.

While price jumps have affected buildings with and without amenities, Manhattan’s middling units have marked sharper rent spikes in recent months.

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The median rent in the borough’s non-doorman buildings hit $3,200 in April, a 33 percent jump from the same time last year. In doorman buildings, which represent the upper half of the market, rents rose 32 percent year over year to reach $4,600 last month.

Median rents in luxury buildings reached their second-highest level on record at $10,000. Bidding wars, meanwhile, affected one out of every three luxury lease signings.

In Brooklyn and Queens, similarly marked net effective median rent growth amid the end of widespread Covid concessions. Brooklyn saw discounted rents surge to the third highest level on record: just shy of $3,000.

At the same time, the market share of landlord concessions in the borough fell to its second-lowest level in over four years at 22 percent.

In northwest Queens, net effective median rent hit a fresh high at $3,050.