Manhattan Apartments Are Leasing in a Flash Ahead of Summer Frenzy
Rents reach a third straight monthly record with more pain to come as market enters its most-competitive season.
Manhattan renters snapped up apartments at the quickest rate in nearly a year, settling into new places before the already heated market heads into its traditionally busiest season.
Units that found takers last month were listed for an average of 35 days, down from 48 days in April and 52 a year earlier, according to appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate. The median rent on newly signed leases reached a record for a third straight month, rising almost 10% from a year earlier to $4,395.
Manhattan rents typically peak in the summer months and dip slightly through the winter. This year, though, demand has been so intense that prices kept pushing upward. And they’re expected to continue rising as new graduates flood in and families race to move before school starts again.
“There's no shock and awe here, it’s just a continuation of a trend that we’ve been seeing for the last 18 months,” said Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel. “It’s hard to imagine there won’t be records for the next several months.”
In May, apartments flew off the market at the fastest pace since last July and August — typically New York’s most-competitive months — when units were listed for just 26 days.