NYC rents skyrocket as pandemic wanes

The idea of renting an apartment for cheap in New York City may be impossible for many people now more than ever.

A reasonable amount of New Yorkers are having to make serious adjustments to pay their rents.

According to recent data from online rental agency Zumper, there are huge hikes in apartment rents in New York City year-over-year: one-bedroom apartments are up 26% and two-bedroom apartments are up almost 30%.

Casey Roberts from StreetEasy said the hike in rental real estate pricing is a supply-versus-demand issue.

“We’re just seeing a lot fewer rentals on the market paired with a ton of demand from renters who are looking to move, and there are a few different factors that are really driving that demand,” Roberts said.

“The first is that we’ve seen New Yorkers who temporarily left the city move back in and look for housing. We’re also seeing more interest in moving within New York.”

Also, StreetEasy reports that the median rent in Manhattan is $3,700, just over $2,700 in Brooklyn, and about $2,300 in Queens — all double-digit increases when compared to this same period last year.

While many landlords may no longer offer those pandemic concessions from last year and the year before, Roberts said it doesn’t hurt renters to ask.