Residential rents inch up from earlier in year, but drop from last year

Citi Habitats' February market rental report found that rents inched up slightly from the previous month but fell from the same period last year (see below for full report).

According to the report, which includes only apartments leased by Citi Habitats, the average monthly rent for a studio increased 2 percent to $1,756 in February from $1,725 the previous month. Both figures are down from $1,764 in February of last year, according to Citi Habitats data.

Average rents for one- and two-bedrooms each increased 1 percent in February of 2010 from the previous month, the report found, with one-bedroom rents rising to $2,335 from $2,318 and three-bedroom rents increasing to $3,283 from $3,257. The average rent for a one-bedroom fell 3 percent to $2,405 from February of 2009, and two-bedroom rents fell 6 percent year-on-year from $3,483.

According to the report, the average rent for a three-bedroom apartment in February 2010 was $4,347, roughly on par with the previous month but down 4 percent from $4,528 last year.

Vacancy of rental apartments for February 2010 was 1.54 percent, the report found, virtually the same as January's figure of 1.59 percent. The report estimated that were approximately 10,355 available Manhattan rental apartments available at any given time in February.

Citi Habitats said it brokered "over 775 transactions" in February, but did not release the exact figure, saying it was "similar" to the number of deals it did in the same period of last year.

Manhattan's rental market is known for its lack of transparency, and the Citi Habitats data is one of several competing and often contradictory reports.

Manhattan rental market flat

The Manhattan rental market showed little movement this past month, according to the Real Estate Group NY's mid-month February 2010 report, with rents climbing just .19 percent since last month (see the full report below). While the rate of vacancies continued to decrease, particularly among doorman units, which saw inventory drop 9.65 percent month-over-month, the report describes the market as sluggish. "Downward seasonal pressure combined with positive market trends to hold rents flat this month," the report explained. "Yet… landlords are finding that the bottom of the market is not the reprieve they were hoping for… the rebound is likely to be a much slower process than landlords anticipated." The most expensive units on the market were non-doorman two-bedroom Tribeca apartments, which had average rents of $7,297 per month, while the lease expensive units were Harlem non-doorman studios, with an average rental rate of $1,394. These figures, are based on data cross-sectioned from over 10,000 currently available listings located below 155th Street, the report indicates.

Market Snap Shot

Market Report: No May Flowers for Manhattan Rentals

Rental-heavy brokerage The Real Estate Group New York has released the May edition of its Manhattan Rental Market Report (available to download here), and while rents stayed largely flat over last month, the year-to-year declines can be seen in the tables above. TREGNY also cites increased demand over the past month as a sign that the typically hot Manhattan spring/summer rental season will have life this year. Graduates should check out non-doorman buildings on the Upper East Side, where rents are at a 13-month low.

While the report doesn't factor in landlord incentives that drive rents down even lower, the May '07 to May '09 head-to-head neighborhood comparisons that TREGNY includes will still open some eyes to the state of the rental market. Neighborhoods such as Murray Hill, Midtown East and the East Village have seen some approx. 20% drops in certain categories over the past two years. Getting back to the here and now, below is a neighborhood snapshot of May rents: