60% of resident median income goes into housing costs
Manhattan’s multifamily rental market ended 2019 with a 1.9% increase in rents, according to new data from Yardi Matrix.
By the beginning of this year, the average rent in Manhattan reached $4,211 – nearly three times the US national average of $1,474. Manhattan’s ultra-expensive multifamily rents far surpassed the averages in other pricey US cities including San Jose ($2,865), San Francisco ($2,717), Boston ($2,309) and Los Angeles ($2,255).
While rents were on the rise, new rental units were disappearing. Last year, only 2,363
units came online, a drop from the 3,890 apartments that were delivered in 2018 and the 5,893-unit peak from 2017. New apartment construction was mostly concentrated three neighborhoods in the borough: The Financial District (1,558 units under construction), East Harlem (1,109) and Harlem (1,010 units).
As for renters who want to buy a Manhattan residence, the borough’s median home price was close to $1 million, a 50% spike over the last decade. Yardi Matrix estimated that neither renters nor homeowners came out ahead, with both the average rent and mortgage payment accounting for nearly 60% of the area residents’ median income.
