The lease likely – NY rents drop
Sky-high Big Apple rents have finally hit the ceiling.
Some of the city’s hottest neighborhoods have seen the steepest rent drops — thanks in part to overdevelopment and New Yorkers’ willingness to accept longer work commutes in exchange for more living space at less cost, according to a new study from RentHop, a data-based realestate start-up.
Falling rents were especially striking in Chelsea, where world-renowned “starchitects” designed luxury condominiums that have risen around the High Line.
Comparing median prices from the fourth quarter of 2016 with the comparable 2015 period, the monthly rent for a one-bedroom, nondoorman apartment in Chelsea plunged an eyepopping 15.5 percent, to $3,125.
“People are still leaving Manhattan in search of cheaper rents and larger apartments,” said RentHop data scientist Shane Leese.
“In Chelsea, the market is saturated. People are tired of paying $3,000 and $4,000 a month in rent and they’re moving to places like Bushwick, with longer commutes. The migration and gentrification of these areas is speeding up.”
Rents in Long Island City plunged 7.22 percent to $2,250 for a one-bedroom in a nondoorman building while luxury doorman units dropped 1.73 percent to $2,862.
Williamsburg’s hot status may also be fading, the study notes, as nondoorman rents dropped 3.41 percent to $2,800 and were down 0.62 percent in luxury doorman buildings.
Battery Park City also saw huge drops: 8.5 percent, to $3,570, in doorman buildings and 15.2 percent, to $3,300, for nondoorman units.
In chi-chi Soho, one-bedrooms in doorman buildings fell 14 percent, to $7,095 while nondoorman units fell 10.5 percent, to $2,950.
While 24 neighborhoods saw rental prices for onebedrooms in doorman buildings fall, 11 neighborhoods experienced hikes.
The largest was in the West Village, where a luxury one-bedroom jumped 7.83 percent to $5,200 a month. Boerum Hill, Dumbo and Downtown Brooklyn had minor hikes.
For the boroughs as a whole, one-bedroom nondoorman apartments fell in 4.76 percent in Manhattan, but were up 7.41 percent in The Bronx, 8.33 percent in Queens and 9.09 percent in Brooklyn.