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Published on January 09, 2025
New York City Winter Rental Market Sizzles with Manhattan Rents Climbing, Brooklyn and Queens Show Mixed TrendsSource: Wikipedia/Anthony Quintano, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

As New Yorkers bundle up against the winter chill, the city's rental market is heating up, continuing its upward trajectory for the third consecutive month. According to a recent Crain's New York Business report, Manhattan's median rent in December climbed to $4,334, signaling both monthly and yearly increases. While new leases in Manhattan dipped slightly from November, they surged nearly 20% compared to December 2023, with listing inventory also seeing a considerable rise to 9,741 apartments. Discounts on apartments' original prices were virtually non-existent, clocking in at just 0.4% off, as the vacancy rate notably stuck around 2.9%.

Meanwhile, renters looking across the East River found little solace in Brooklyn's market, as the median rent stubbornly held at $3,495—effectively unchanged from the month prior but still up from the previous year. Brooklyn's market dynamics appeared to be shifting subtly, with new leases slightly down from November but considerably higher by roughly 20% year over year. In an unusual seasonal trend, inventory in Brooklyn remained largely static from November while witnessing an almost 50% year-over-year increase, as mentioned by Crain's New York Business.

Jonathan Miller, the CEO of Miller Samuel and the mind behind these figures, doesn't see the rent increase trend reversing any time soon. "At least through the first half of the year, I would anticipate higher rents," Miller told Crain's New York Business. He added that a significant change in mortgage rates, which is currently not expected, could be the only mitigating factor to this trajectory.

And while the market in Queens offered a slight reprieve with median rents in northwest Queens dropping to $3,395, a rare year-over-year decrease, this might do little to shift the overall narrative. As Brick Underground reported, almost one in five leases in that area were signed above asking price—indicating a fierce competition for available units. With a 97.2% surge in listings compared to last year, the market in Queens seems to be to just now start catching up with its more centralized boroughs.

Brooklyn and Manhattan's rental landscape is not the only thing changing; experts are also noting a shift in where new residents are choosing to plant their roots. "Brooklyn outperformed in December," observed Gary Malin, COO at Corcoran, in a statement obtained by Brick Underground. Malin remarked on the "relatively bustling" market and the rise of the outer boroughs as increasingly popular destinations, on par with Manhattan's perennial lure. This outer borough growth is particularly notable in Brooklyn, which presents a large selection of apartments and new developments, drawing in a vast array of apartment-seekers.