Justin Fox, Columnist

Why Is a New York Apartment Still So Hard to Find?

The pandemic exodus from the city hasn’t led to an era of cheaper rents.

September 26, 2022 at 10:30 AM UTC

Justin Fox is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering business, economics and other topics involving charts. A former editorial director of the Harvard Business Review, he is author of “The Myth of the Rational Market.”

Vacancy rates are low and asking rents are high.
Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

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New York City’s population fell by an estimated 336,677, nearly 4%, between April 2020 and July 2021, according to the US Census Bureau. Timelier data from US Postal Service address changes, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York/Equifax Consumer Credit Panel and other sources indicate that more people are probably still leaving the city than moving in. Payroll employment (which includes those who commute into the city) has been rising but remains 161,500 lower than in February 2020.

So, uh, why is it so hard to find an apartment?