Whad’ya know: The rent was too damn high.
Manhattan rents have dropped for the first time since 2010, according to a new study.
The July 16 report from real-estate listings site StreetEasy, which analyzed property prices during the second quarter of 2020, attributed the first year-over-year decrease in 10 years to the lack of demand for apartments and an increase in vacancies as New Yorkers flee the city due to the coronavirus pandemic.
From April to June of 2019, the median Manhattan rent was $3,395 a month, according to StreetEasy. Over the same period in 2020, it was $3,300 — a 2.8 percent reduction.
Not only did 34.7 percent of all Manhattan rentals get a discount — a new high for that metric — but landlords in the borough also slashed a record 6.7 percent off asking rents. That amounts to $221 per month, or $2,652 per year.
As work-from-home orders remain for many city professionals, there’s not a current need to live near the offices, or even to pick a pad for its easy commute. As a result, landlords looking to fill empty apartments are turning to rent reductions to lure new tenants to what was once the epicenter of the virus.
Many rentals in prime Manhattan districts cut their prices during the second quarter, a StreetEasy search shows. For instance, a studio at 145 W. 12th St. in the usually coveted neighborhood of Greenwich Village listed at the end of June for $2,700 a month, then decreased its price by 8 percent to $2,495 five days later. (It is still on the market for $2,000 following two further price chops.) In nearby Soho, a one-bedroom rental at 104 Sullivan St. hit the market for $2,800 in early June before lowering its ask to $2,650 by the end of the month.
Rents are falling in Brooklyn, too. In that borough, 25.6 percent of rental units received discounts in the second quarter — 8.6 percent more than the same period in 2019. In Queens, the downward trajectory is the same. There, 22.5 percent of rentals saw discounts — a 4.7 percent increase from last year, StreetEasy notes.
Beyond price cuts, tenants are getting other perks, such as more flexible move-in dates.
One 25-year-old Brooklyn renter told The Post that she was able to negotiate the price of her new Carroll Gardens one-bedroom. Listed for $1,950 per month, she got down to $1,900 — and was able to sign the lease a full month before moving in mid-June.
“A lot of places in New York won’t let you do it that far in advance,” she said.
While prices and demand have both slipped, New Yorkers are still ogling apartment listings. StreetEasy reports that the number of visitors to the site has actually increased.
For instance, Brooklyn received the biggest jump in year-over-year search interest during the second quarter, with 26 percent more searches than in 2019. In Queens, that figure rose by 24 percent; in Manhattan, 15 percent year-over-year.
It’s not just renters with expiring leases on the horizon, according to StreetEasy, but also people checking to see how the ongoing pandemic may affect rent prices. Many are assuming they may be able to get better deals by moving.
