New York City Residential Rental Market Report: November 2020

For apartment hunters in Manhattan and Brooklyn, rents continued to fall during November, and move-in incentives became even more generous.

The Corcoran Group recently released our Manhattan and Brooklyn Rental Market Analysis for November 2020.  Rents continue to fall in both boroughs, which prompted the vacancy rate to decline for the first time in nine months.  With many building owners offering lower rents and generous move-in incentives, savvy apartment-seekers have been able to secure apartments that may have once been out of reach. 

During the month, Manhattan rents declined when compared to October for all apartment sizes.  Pricing for both studio and two-bedroom homes was down 12%, while rents for one- and three-bedroom units fell 6% for both categories.

In Brooklyn, November rents also fell across the board when compared to the preceding month.  In the borough, pricing for studio and three-bedroom was homes down 4%.  Meanwhile, rents were down 3% and 6%, respectively, for one- and two-bedroom apartments.

After climbing steadily since February, the vacancy rate fell slightly in November as some tenants responded to the values available in the marketplace.  In November 2020, 4.89% of apartments were vacant, compared to 5.04% in October.  However, vacancy is up substantially from November 2019’s rate of 1.36%.

The use of concessions continues to rise slowly.  In November 2020, 54% of rental transactions brokered by The Corcoran Group offered a free month (or more) of rent and/or payment of the broker fee to entice new tenants– up slightly from 53% in October. 

Additional relevant findings of the November 2020 Corcoran rental report are outlined below. 

  • In November 2020, the average monthly rental price for a Manhattan studio was $1,895. For one-bedroom homes, it was $2,549.  For two-bedroom units, the average rent was $3,426, and the average three-bedroom apartment rented for $5,839.

Brooklyn studio apartments (in the 14 neighborhoods studied) rented for $2,246 per month on average.  For Brooklyn one-bedrooms, the average rent was $2,659 – while rents for two- and three-bedrooms clocked in at $3,237 and $3,763, respectively.

  • The most expensive Manhattan neighborhood for renters in November was SoHo/TriBeCa with a median rent of $6,100.  The West Village was the second-priciest area – with a median rent of $5,400

For Brooklyn, DUMBO was the most expensive neighborhood in November with a median rent of $3,800 – followed by Boerum Hill, which had a median rent of $3,200 per month.

  • With a vacancy rate of 3.08%, the Financial District/Battery Park City was the Manhattan neighborhood with the least inventory in November 2020, followed by Midtown West at 3.75%.  On the other end of the spectrum, the vacancy rate was highest during the month in the East Village (at 10.45%) and Midtown East (at 7.05%).

Read the full New York City rental report.

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