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Industry studies show that the average rent on Manhattan apartments has risen to a point close to pre-crash rates, according to the New York Post. Over the same period, vacancy rates dropped considerably as residents rented at near-record rates.
The average rent for Manhattan apartments was $3, 309 per month in 2011, up from $3, 046 in the previous year. Rates rose across the board, regardless of apartment type: studios and one-bedrooms saw an 8% increase in rent, while two and three-bedrooms saw a 9% increase in rent. At the same time, vacancies fell from 1.16% in 2010 to 0.96% in 2011.
This bucks the trend seen in the rental market since the average rent on Manhattan apartments hit its record in 2007 at $3,310 per month. After that, rent rates dropped consistently with each year.
Experts see the renting trend as a result of a tight mortgage market and an unstable economy. For residents uncomfortable with making a commitment to a mortgage, rentals seem like a safer option.
While rentals (where they can be found) may seem safer from a fluctuating buyer’s market in Manhattan, they aren’t immune from it: studies have also shown that landlords are less likely to make concessions like paying for the first month’s rent or paying broker fees.
P.S. 41 in the West Village
The Department of Education is thinking of undertaking a rezoning project that could drastically affect which West Village school parents send their children to. For years, parents in the neighborhood who chose to send their children to public school had the choice of two schools: P.S. 3 at 490 Hudson Street and P.S. 41 at 116 West 11th Street. This became a unique situation for West Village parents as they were in the only part of Manhattan zoned for two public schools.
Now, the Department of Education is looking over a plan that could eliminate that choice for West Village parents. Under the new zoning, West Village children would only be zoned for P.S. 3, while P.S. 41 would be zoned for Greenwich Village residents. Residents of the Meatpacking District would be zoned for P.S. 11 on 320 West 21st Street in Chelsea.
The Department of Education has stated that its purpose behind the rezoning is for space reasons. Both P.S. 3 and P.S. 11 have recently eliminated middle school expansions, which the DOE feels would allow more space for new students.
Residents, on the other hand, are less than receptive to this proposal. Community Board 2 chairperson Brad Hoylman issued a statement in support of the current state of affairs, arguing that any rezoning would be “traumatic” since “communities are built around schools.” He also argued that the DOE should take future schools, like Trinity Real Estate’s proposed school in Hudson Square or the school in the NYU superblock project, into consideration when making a final decision.
Community Board 2’s zoning committee will be hearing the rezoning proposal this Tuesday, October 11th. Residents with feedback can e-mail the Community Board at d2zoning@gmail.com.
A new site, Checkyourlandlord.com, aims to flip the tables on landlords by allowing tenants to do their own due diligence on the property they are considering renting. With a rise in landlord fraud sweeping the nation, tenants now have a tool at their disposal to ensure that a landlord’s ownership interest and financial position are as the prospective tenant would expect. For example, a customer of CheckYourLandlord.com might discover that the apartment they are about to rent is in foreclosure. Or they might find out that the person claiming to be the landlord is in fact a tenant that is currently being evicted or some other form of scam artist.
CheckYourLandlord.com relies on analysts to review real-time data aggregated from thousands of government agencies and offices at the county, state, and national level. They highlight the risk factors that they might discover and provide an impartial report. Tenants can then use the information to make an informed decision.
CheckYourLandlord.com has offered our readers a discount of 20% simply by using the discount code: AKERLY20. Let us know about your experiences with the service.
Yesterday New York City’s Rent Guidelines Board agreed to an increase in rates for lessors of all apartments in New York that are rent stabilized. The approved changes would raise the limit on rent hikes to 3.75 percent on one-year leases and 7.25 percent on two-year leases.
The vote comes after the state agreed, at the last minute, to extend current statewide rent regulations until new laws can be agreed upon. As with the controversy upstate, city tenants have taken issue with the steady rent increases. Joe Strasburg, chairman of the Rent Stabilization Association, told the New York Post that the decision was yet another step towards the elimination of affordable housing in New York.
The meeting, held at Cooper Union, was fraught with tension as tenants voiced their anger at the Rent Guidelines Board. Protests were held outside of Cooper Union as tenants objected to what they see as landlord greed. New York’s rent-stabilized apartments are viewed as the last refuge for affordable housing in a city that is getting progressively more expensive.
Jesse Duperon, a 51-year-old East Village resident, told the New York Daily News that the decision was “economic injustice.” She added, “They’re chasing us out of our own city.”
The board decision is the latest increase for rentals in New York. Last October, rent hike limits on New York apartments increased to 2.25 percent for one-year leases and 4.25 percent for two-year leases.
The New York Daily News reports that the New York State Senate rejected a proposal to extend expiring rent regulations while new regulations are still being discussed among lawmakers. The extension, proposed by SenateRepublicans and supported by Governor Andrew Cuomo, was rejected by some Republicans and all Senate Democrats under the argument that it failed to strengthen tenant protections.
Lawmakers in Albany are still in discussions over the provisions of new rent laws, with pressure coming from both tenants’ organizations and real estate developers. Democrats are pushing for more protection for tenants in rent-controlled apartments, while Republicans want to keep current rent regulations as they are, along with added tax incentives for developers and owners of large apartment buildings.
Governor Cuomo pledged to keep the legislature in session until a long-term agreement can be reached. He said that expiration of the old rent laws, which occurred on Wednesday, would not lead to a housing crisis, but warned that a crisis would occur if no long-term rent regulations were in place soon.
Update: Albany has agreed to a last minute, brief extension of the rent control laws while the legislature continues to work toward a viable resolution to the standoff.
The Wall Street Journal reported on the latest debate over new rent regulations taking place in the New York State legislature. The Democrat-controlled State Assembly has been 
pushing for broader rent regulations than the ones that currently exist, but landlords and real estate developers have been resistant to such measures.
The debate over regulations had not been discussed in much depth in Albany until recently, now that the current rent laws are set to expire on Wednesday. Landlords and large developers then presented their suggestion for new legislation, which included tax breaks for developers of new apartments, a tax cap for building owners, and legislation that would reverse a court decision that lowered rents on certain apartment buildings.
The proposed changes were brought to the legislature by the Real Estate Board of New York, which represents developers and owners of large apartment buildings. Currently, the Republican-controlled State Senate has introduced legislation on the measures, though Majority Leader Dean Skelos has not expressed support or opposition to the proposals.
On the other side of the debate is the Rent Stabilization Association, which represents owners of small and medium-sized apartment buildings. They have expressed opposition to the Real Estate Board’s ideas, arguing that the tax breaks would exclusively benefit owners of large buildings. The Rent Stabilization Association, as well as other interest groups representing small building owners, has pushed both houses of the legislature to maintain current rent regulations as they are.
The State Senate plans to take a vote for a temporary extension on the current rent laws by Wednesday. Then, it’s assumed that the in-depth discussion of new rent laws will begin.
First of all, feel assured that simply being invited to the board interview is a good sign. Attorneys typically advise co-op board directors not to entertain interviews if they do not like what they see on paper. This is to lower the risk of a claim asserting that a denialoccurred because the applicant is in a class protected by federal, state or city housing laws. So, if you are in the interview, your paperwork has already checked out. The sit down will be an opportunity for the board members to ask you specific questions about your application. The style of the meeting depends entirely on the building and the current board members, but can range from an informal gathering in an apartment to a more formal interview with the entire board sitting across from you at a table. Either way, below are ten tips that will go a long way to ensure that you present yourself in the best light possible and feel prepared when you arrive.
According to an article in Crain’s this afternoon, the Manhattan rental market is back to the pre-crash days when it comes to rising rents, decreasing inventory, and torrid demand. Only 16% of all Manhattan transactions in February included any landlord concessions (e.g.free rent or payment of the broker’s fee). In fact, that was down from 21% in January. The vacancy rate in Manhattan dropped to 1.18% and many expect it to slip below 1% as we approach the high-velocity summer rental season.
“Many clients come into our office expecting us to help them find that great deal their friend got last year” said Kate Akerly of Charles Rutenberg LLC, “but the reality is that they may not be aware that the market has shifted dramatically from those days.” On that note, a market report released today showed that the year-over-year pricing for studios is up 7% to $1,756, one-bedrooms increased 9% to $2,335, two-bedrooms rose 10% to $3,283 and three-bedrooms leaped 12% to $4,347 from February 2010. Keep in mind that those numbers are average rents for all apartment types across Manhattan (from walk-ups to high-rises and the West Village to Harlem). The averages are well below the cost of renting in the best neighborhoods or in doorman buildings and dramatically below if you want both!
So what does this mean for renters? The following are some tips and things to keep in mind if you will be searching for an apartment in the coming months:
If you would like to speak to a member of our team about your apartment search, give us a call at (212) 400-4838 or e-mail us at yourkeytothecity@AkerlyRE.com. Feel free to to start your search here in our database of currently available NYC listings.
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