For apartment hunters in Manhattan and Brooklyn, rents dropped and inventory grew during October, and move-in incentives were plentiful.
The Corcoran Group recently released our Manhattan and Brooklyn Rental Market Analysis for October 2020. Overall rents are down, while both inventory and incentives continue to rise in both boroughs. These conditions provide great opportunities for current apartment seekers.
During the month, Manhattan rents declined year-over-year for all apartment sizes with the exception of three-bedroom homes. Pricing for studio units fell 13%, while rents for one- and two-bedroom apartments declined 14% and 8%, respectively. In contrast, pricing for three-bedrooms increased 16%. We attribute this rise to the fact that leases for high-end units comprised a large percentage of the limited activity in this market segment.
In Brooklyn, rents were down across the board when compared to last year. In the borough, overall pricing for studio apartments was down 9%, while rents for one-bedroom units declined 12%. Meanwhile, pricing fell 17% and 29%, respectively, for two- and three-bedroom homes.
Vacancy rates continue to climb, but the rise in inventory has slowed recently. In October 2020, 5.04% of apartments were vacant, compared to 5.02% in September. However, vacancy is up substantially from October 2019’s rate of 1.31%
When examining concessions, 53% of rental transactions brokered by The Corcoran Group offered a free month’s rent and/or payment of the broker fee to entice new tenants in October 2020 – up slightly from 52% in September.
Additional relevant findings of the October 2020 Corcoran rental report are outlined below.
- In October 2020, the average monthly rental price for a Manhattan studio was$2,161. For one-bedroom homes, it was $2,709. For two-bedroom units, the average rent was $3,915, and the average three-bedroom apartment rented for$6,192.
Brooklyn studio apartments (in the 14 neighborhoods studied) rented for $2,343 per month on average. For Brooklyn one-bedrooms, the average rent was $2,733 – while rents for two- and three-bedrooms clocked in at $3,426 and $3,939, respectively.
- The most expensive Manhattan neighborhood for renters in October was Gramercy/Flatiron with a median rent of $5,050. The Financial District/Battery Park City was the second-priciest area – with a median rent of $4,200.
For Brooklyn, DUMBO was the most expensive neighborhood in October with a median rent of $3,935 – followed by Boerum Hill, which had a median rent of $3,325 per month.
- With a vacancy rate of 3.28%, the Financial District/Battery Park City was the Manhattan neighborhood with the least inventory in October 2020, followed by Midtown West at 3.94%. On the other end of the spectrum, the vacancy rate was highest during the month in the East Village (at 9.50%) and Midtown East (at 7.12%).
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