NYC Rental Prices Skyrocket As Available Units Vanish: Study
NEW YORK CITY — Skyrocketing prices and a record-breaking 50 percent drop in New York City rental units capped an already challenging year for tenants, according to new study.
The city's rental inventory halved from about 128,000 available in the last three months of 2020 to little more than 60,000 during the same period in 2021, according to a StreetEasy study released Thursday.
“The market is in the process of normalizing after nearly two years of uncertainty," explained StreetEasy economist Nancy Wu. "That’s good news for the city’s recovery overall, but it's understandable that many renters or hopeful renters might be feeling uneasy right now."
The study also found prices see-sawed wildly last year — and not to renters' benefit.
As 2021 dawned, the typical rent for New York City apartment stood at $2,420 — the lowest in StreetEasy's records.
They shot up to $2,700 by the year's end — about an 11 percent increase from the first quarter, according to the study. Rents also jumped about 8 percent from the same point in 2020.
"This was the largest annual increase in rents for any given quarter on StreetEasy record," the study states.
Rent still hasn't reached its pre-pandemic high of about $2,820 in summer 2019, the study found.
More apartments will likely become available in 2022, potentially affecting prices, as renters who landed deals during the pandemic could be sent packing, according to the study.
"Concessions that landlords gave at the beginning of last year will expire, leaving many renters with no choice but to move out of their Covid-era discounted rentals," Wu said in a statement.
"This should boost rental inventory in the most competitive neighborhoods and give renters on the market some reprieve from the rapid price growth we’ve seen throughout the last year.”
Read the full StreetEasy study here.
This article originally appeared on the New York City Patch
