Winter typically brings a slowdown in New York City’s real estate market, but this year has been anything but typical.
In February, Manhattan rents soared to a record-high median of $4,500—a 6.4% increase from the previous year. Rental prices also climbed in Brooklyn and Queens as vacancy rates tightened, according to a new report from Douglas Elliman.
With demand surging, both renters and agents are feeling the pressure.
“There’s not a lot of room to negotiate,” said Douglas Wagner, BOND New York’s director of brokerage services, in an interview with The Post.
The early bird no longer gets the worm when it comes to apartment applications.
“It’s all about who can offer more,” said Laurel Ferrera, an agent at Keller Williams NYC. Landlords are listing units at lower prices to attract interest, Ferrera explained in an email, only to field multiple applications and drive up the final rent.
“A one-bedroom, one-bath on the Upper West Side was initially marketed at $3,700 but ended up renting for $800 over asking,” Ferrera wrote. “The agent told me, ‘The people who got the apartment were willing to go even higher if needed.’”
Bidding wars erupted in a quarter of Manhattan rental deals in February, according to an Elliman report—a record high. Experts attribute the fierce competition to an uncertain economy, hesitant homebuyers, and back-to-office mandates.
Alex K., one of Ferrera’s recent clients, assumed an apartment hunt in February would give her an advantage. She quickly learned otherwise.
“I always heard winter was an easier time to find a place,” she told the Post. “But it seems like everyone wants to come back to the city now.”
Alex, who is moving from California to New York for work, said she and Ferrara looked at more than a dozen apartments across Brooklyn and Manhattan. In the process, she ended up in four separate bidding wars.
One of the bid-upon units was a Cobble Hill one-bedroom that, Alex said, someone else paid $800 above the asking price for.
“I’m sure some people have dual incomes, but it’s just me, and I can’t compete with that,” Alex said.
The Elliman report found February’s Brooklyn listings had even fiercer competition than Manhattan, with 35% of deals resulting in bidding wars.
Compared to Manhattan and Brooklyn, housing inventory in Northwest Queens saw a generous increase. The 103% uptick in available listings in February may have contributed to a higher rate of the borough’s landlords willing to make concessions, eager to attract choosier tenants. Still, bidding wars were documented in a fifth of all deals in Queens.
The Elliman analysis also documented a faster rise in the median rent of non-doorman buildings than doorman buildings. Wagner said he has noticed renters aspiring to more outfitted, upgraded apartments, and he said they’re willing to give up an amenity, like a doorman, to get those features.
“If the non-doorman apartment is well-equipped, and there’s a washer-dryer in the apartment, and the rooms are not tiny, it makes a huge difference,” Wagner said. “People will maybe give up the idea of a doorman and a health club to save a little bit of money, if they can get something better than an Easy Bake kitchen.”
If an apartment today is equipped well and priced well, Wagner said, there will be a line out the door.
Wagner predicts an even hotter summer for the market, with prices remaining high and units staying competitive. He advised those looking for better value to consider looking outside the city’s prime locations, like Southern Brooklyn or Eastern Queens.
After fighting their way through the bidding wars, Alex K. and her broker Ferrera eventually found the perfect place in Gramercy. In order to snag it, Alex K. offered the owners $400 over its asking price, landing her right at her max budget of $4,000.
“I saw it on StreetEasy, I was like, ‘I feel like that’s my place,’” she said.
Her bid won out over nine other offers, gaining her a two-year lease at the co-op building, which comes with a live-in super and a community garden.
“I got a great place. It’s a good location for my first couple years in New York,” she said. “And I love the place, I love the owner. So I got really lucky.
