New York City Residential Rental Market Report: April 2021

The Corcoran Group recently released its rental market reports for Manhattan and Brooklyn for April 2021.

Among the reports’ key findings:

Manhattan

Last month’s robust leasing activity continued in April, which helped absorb available inventory. For the second consecutive month, there were more than 7,000 leases reported signed. The 7,137 new leases in April is up 383% year-over-year but down 2% from March.
Lower rents are encouraging tenants to return to the city, to trade-up, or to relocate to a new neighborhood. While still down from last year, rents have remained steady for the past 5 months. The median Manhattan rent in April 2021 was $2,956 – down 18% year-over-year and down 1% from March.
The Manhattan vacancy rate continues to fall from the peak reached in December 2020. In April, 3.19% of apartments in the borough were vacant.

Leasing activity in Brooklyn vastly improved versus the low point a year ago and was steady versus March. Robust lease activity helped to chip away at inventory. The 1,749 new leases signed in April is up 228% year-over-year and up 1% from March.
This increase in leasing fueled rent growth relative to the low in January 2021. The median Brooklyn rent in April 2021 was $2,700, still 16% lower than last year. However, rents have been rising for three consecutive months.
Rental inventory in Brooklyn continues to fall. In April 2021, there were 3,740 active listings in Brooklyn, marking the fifth straight month of inventory declines.

Brooklyn and Manhattan, by Gavin Spear, courtesy of Unsplash. Click photo for profile.