Manhattan Rental Market Report

Updated: February 2012

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Table of Contents

• Introduction
• A Quick Look
• Mean Manhattan Rental Prices
• Manhattan Price Trends
• Neighborhood Price Trends
  • Harlem
  • Upper West Side
  • Upper East Side
  • Midtown West
  • Midtown East
  • Murray Hill
  • Chelsea
  • Gramercy Park
  • Greenwich Village
  • East Village
  • SoHo
  • Lower East Side
  • TriBeCa
  • Financial District
  • Battery Park City
• The Report Explained

Introduction

MNS is proud to present the February 2012 edition, and the 6th year of our Manhattan Rental Market Report ™, the only research on the city’s rental rates published on a monthly basis.

There must be something in the warm air that kept rents hovering around the same averages as last month, down just 0.1% from last month overall. Across the board, 1 bedroom apartments had a 1.43% decrease ($54), while studios and 2 bedrooms crept up with the temperature, up 0.64% ($16) and 0.33% ($14) respectively.

Where last month the overall decreases translated to about $12, this month it was just $8, and if that groundhog is correct, we may officially be leaving the low point of the season. Compared to last February, numbers are up 6.5% and the average Manhattan lease-signer will now see a $200 increase in both doorman and non-doorman buildings.

On an annual basis, the largest increase in rents is occurring downtown, up 7.6% from last year. Middle Manhattan neighborhoods are experiencing a 6.7% rent growth from last February, and uptown just 4.2%. In terms of inventory, the pricing is reflected in the supply. A slim 26% of the listings in Manhattan are downtown, while 38% of rental inventory is uptown.

A Quick Look

• Uptown Savings: On an annual basis, the largest increase in rents occurred downtown, up 7.6% from last year. Middle Manhattan neighborhoods are experiencing a 6.7% rent growth from last February, and uptown just 4.2%.
• One-bedrooms down: Across the board, one-bedroom apartments had a 1.43% decrease ($54) from January, while studios and two-bedrooms crept up with the temperature, up 0.64% ($16) and 0.33% ($14) respectively.
• Annual temperatures and rents are up: While the temperature is up 10 degrees from last February, rents are up 6.5%. The average Manhattan lease-signer will now see about a $200 increase in both doorman and non-doorman buildings.

Greatest Changes Since January:

Non-doorman studios – Chelsea – Up 6.6% ($129)

Non-doorman one-bedrooms –Harlem - Down 3.0% ($54)

Non-doorman two–bedrooms – Murray Hill – Down 2.4% ($97)

Doorman studios – Murray Hill – Down 3.0% ($81)

Doorman one-bedrooms – Upper West Side – Down 4.8% ($175)

Doorman two-bedrooms – Upper West Side– Up 1.4% ($86)

Year-over-year Changes

Notable Trends:

Where Prices Decreased

Harlem— Non-doorman studios (-0.5%), doorman studios (-0.35%), non-doorman one-bedrooms (-3.0%)

Upper West Side— Non-doorman one-bedrooms (-0.4%), doorman one-bedrooms (-4.8%), non-doorman two-bedrooms (-0.4%)

Upper East Side—Non-doorman one-bedrooms (-3.0%), non-doorman two-bedrooms (-1.2%)

Midtown West— Doorman studios (-0.4%), doorman one-bedrooms (-0.9%), non-doorman two-bedrooms (-1.1%)

Midtown East— Doorman studios (-2.0%), non-doorman one-bedrooms (-2.7%), doorman one-bedrooms (-0.9%)

Murray Hill—Doorman studios (-3.0%), doorman one-bedrooms (-2.5%), non-doorman two-bedrooms (-2.4%), doorman two-bedrooms (-0.2%)

Chelsea— Doorman studios (-1.0%), doorman one-bedrooms (-4.6%), doorman two-bedrooms (-0.2%)

Gramercy Park— Non-doorman one-bedrooms (-1.2 %), doorman one-bedrooms (-0.1 %), doorman twobedrooms (-1.2%)

Greenwich Village—Doorman studios (-1.9%), non-doorman one-bedrooms (-1.4%), doorman one-bedrooms (-1.1%), doorman two-bedrooms (-1.3%)

East Village—Doorman studios (-2.1%), doorman two-bedrooms (-0.9%)

SoHo— Non-doorman one-bedrooms (-1.7%), doorman one-bedrooms (-2.1%), doorman two-bedrooms (-0.5%)

Lower East Side—Non-doorman studios (-0.9%), doorman one-bedrooms (-1.1%), non-doorman two-bedrooms (-1.3%), doorman two-bedrooms (-0.7%)

TriBeCa—Doorman one-bedrooms (-1.1%)

Financial District—Doorman studios (-1.8%), doorman one-bedrooms (-2.5%), non-doorman two-bedrooms (-0.6%), doorman two-bedrooms (-1.4%)

Battery Park City—Doorman one-bedrooms (-2.4%), doorman two-bedrooms (-0.8%)

Where Prices Increased

Harlem— Doorman one-bedrooms (2.8%), non-doorman two-bedrooms (1.4%), doorman two-bedrooms (0.4%)

Upper West Side— Non-doorman studios (2.9%), doorman studios (2.6%), doorman two-bedrooms (1.4%)

Upper East Side— Non-doorman studios (0.8%), doorman studios (0.9%), doorman one-bedrooms (0.4%), doorman two-bedrooms (0.3%)

Midtown West— Non-doorman studios (0.7%), non-doorman one-bedrooms (0.4%), doorman two-bedrooms (0.2%)

Midtown East— Non-doorman studios (2.6%), non-doorman two-bedrooms (0.4%)

Murray Hill— Non-doorman studios (2.6%), non- doorman one-bedrooms (0.4%)

Chelsea— Non-doorman studios (6.6%), non- doorman one-bedrooms (0.7%), non-doorman two-bedrooms (2.3%)

Gramercy Park— Non-doorman studios (2.3%), doorman studios (2.2%), non-doorman two-bedrooms (0.7%)

Greenwich Village— Non-doorman studios (0.9%), non-doorman two-bedrooms (0.9%)

East Village— Non-doorman studios (1.3%), non-doorman one-bedrooms (0.7%), doorman one-bedrooms (1.6%), non-doorman two-bedrooms (0.4%)

SoHo— Non-doorman studios (1.0%), doorman studios (0.4%), non-doorman two-bedrooms (1.9%)

Lower East Side— Doorman studios (1.8%), non-doorman one-bedrooms (0.5%), non-doorman two-bedrooms (3.8%)

TriBeCa— Non-doorman studios (0.1%), doorman studios (1.2%), non-doorman one-bedrooms (1.7%), nondoorman two-bedrooms (1.6%), doorman two-bedrooms (0.2%)

Financial District— Non-doorman studios (2.9%), non-doorman one-bedrooms (0.8%)

Battery Park City— Doorman Studios (1.8%)

Tips for Renters

Where to renew: Year-over-Year rents in Upper Manhattan are up only 4.6% ($124 average) while middle Manhattan and downtown are experiencing 6.7% and 7.6% rent growth from last year’s leases, an average of $240. If you’re looking uptown, you’ve got your pick of about 40% of the listings on the market.

Head to the Hill: Doorman apartments in Murray Hill are down 1.9% from last month, a savings of about $60. One-bedrooms here will give you the most options, where 60% of the inventory on the market is for solo-living and averaging $3,474, a price not seen since last October.

Best Deal: Compared to other neighborhoods, the upgrade to a doorman building this month averaged about $1,175. In both FiDi and Harlem, just an additional $500 a month will get you into a doorman building with great amenities.

Mean Manhattan Rental Prices

The Mean Rental Price graphs illustrate average monthly rents for studios, one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms in doorman and non-doorman buildings for the month of February 2012. Graphs tracking citywide and neighborhood price changes over a rolling 13-month period follow.

The Report Explained

The Manhattan Rental Market Report™ is the only report that compares fluctuation in the city’s rental data on a monthly basis. It is an essential tool for potential renters seeking transparency in the NYC apartment market and a benchmark for landlords to efficiently and fairly adjust individual property rents in Manhattan.

The Manhattan Rental Market Report™ is based on data cross-sectioned from over 10,000 currently available listings located below 155th Street and priced under $10,000, with ultra-luxury property omitted to obtain a true monthly rental average. Our data is aggregated from the MNS’s proprietary database and sampled from a specific mid-month point to record current rental rates offered by landlords during that particular month. It is then combined with information from the REBNY Real Estate Listings Source (RLS), OnLine Residential (OLR.com) and R.O.L.E.X. (Real Plus).

Contact us now: 212.475.9000

Note: All market data is collected and compiled by MNS NY’s marketing department. The information presented here are intended for instructive purposes only and has been gathered from sources deemed reliable, though it may be subject to errors, omissions, changes or withdrawal without notice.

If you would like to republish this report on the web, please be sure to source it as the “Manhattan Rental Market Report” with a link back to its original location (http://www.mns.com/manhattan_rental_market_report).