Manhattan Rental Market Report Year End 2009
Table of Contents Introduction 3 A Quick Look 4 Mean Manhattan Rental Prices 5 Notable Trends 7 Manhattan Price Trends 7 Neighborhood Price Trends Upper West Side 8 Upper East Side 8 Midtown West 8 Midtown East 8 Murray Hill 9 Chelsea 9 Gramercy Park 9 Greenwich Village 9 East Village 10 SoHo 10 Lower East Side 10 TriBeCa 10 Financial District 11 Battery Park City 11 Harlem 11 The Report Explained 12 2
Introduction We are proud to present The Real Estate Group s third annual Year End Report, the summation of a year s worth of data collected from our monthly Manhattan Rental Market Reports. We hope you fi nd these pages useful in determining the rental trends of Manhattan s major neighborhoods, as well as the overall climate of the Manhattan rental market during the course of 2009. Manhattan s rental market opened 2009 with a continuation of the downward trends that began in the fall of 2008. Landlords quickly saw that incentives were needed to decrease inventories and Manhattan rapidly became a no fee market. Larger landlords who were able to offer concessions and extras like free rent saw their inventories steadily decrease over the year; however, smaller landlords with less price fl exibility had more diffi culty getting their units rented. Manhattan s seasonality trends in 2009 were muted, yet a moderate increase in activity during the summer months helped prices to stabilize and vacancies to decrease. Some landlords tested rent increases and forgoing concessions throughout the summer, but many abandoned these changes as they saw inventory sit vacant during their peak rental season. As fall approached, there was hope for a sustained push from renters whose starting dates were moved into the later part of 2009; however, fall and winter came and went with little change. While we expect a slow start to 2010, there is potential for the market to return to stability over the next year. The most important factor for a market improvement is employment, and as it steadily improves, we can expect the rental market to do the same. 3
A Quick Look Year-Over-Year Changes: Manhattan Non- Rents: 2008 vs. 2009 2008 2009 Change Studios $2,061 $1,944-5.67% One-bedrooms $2,782 $2,616-5.97% Two-bedrooms $3,879 $3,639-6.19% Manhattan Rents: 2008 vs. 2009 2008 2009 Change Studios $2,530 $2,325-8.12% One-bedrooms $3,600 $3,316-7.89% Two-bedrooms $5,406 $5,139-4.94% Average Changes Over 2009*: Citywide Average Price Changes Over 2009* Non- Studios -0.51% -5.70% One-bedrooms 0.92% -5.54% Two-bedrooms 0.36% -1.93% *Average price changes were obtained by calculating the percentage of change between the average asking rents at the start of 2009 (January) and at the end of 2009 (December). 4
Mean Manhattan Rental Prices The Mean Rental Price graphs illustrate average monthly rents for studios, one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms in doorman and non-doorman buildings for the year of 2009. 6000 2009 Mean Manhattan Rental Prices 4500 3000 1500 0 Studio One-bedroom Two-bedroom Non-doorman 2,325 3,316 5,139 1,944 2,616 3,639 3800 2009 Mean Studio Rental Prices 2850 1900 950 0 Harlem Upper West Side Upper East Side Midtown West Midtown East Murray Hill Chelsea Gramercy Greenwich East Park Village Village SoHo Lower East Side TriBeCa Financial District Battery Park City Non-doorman 1,321 2,151 2,298 2,241 2,057 2,194 2,466 2,504 2,552 2,394 2,649 2,475 2,759 2,475 2,333 1,276 1,728 1,673 1,713 1,806 1,837 2,027 1,956 2,032 1,790 2,241 1,784 3,072 2,286-5
Mean Manhattan Rental Prices 5500 2009 Mean One-bedroom Rental Prices 4125 2750 1375 0 Harlem Upper West Side Upper East Side Midtown West Midtown East Murray Hill Chelsea Gramercy Greenwich East Park Village Village SoHo Lower East Side TriBeCa Financial District Battery Park City Non-doorman 1,842 3,210 3,328 3,029 3,288 3,052 3,680 3,635 3,869 3,606 4,473 2,809 3,655 3,292 2,974 1,643 2,310 2,133 2,105 2,370 2,397 2,764 2,521 2,859 2,542 3,192 2,289 4,201 3,298-10000 2009 Mean Two-bedroom Rental Prices 7500 5000 2500 0 Harlem Upper West Side Upper East Side Midtown West Midtown East Murray Hill Chelsea Gramercy Greenwich Park Village East Village SoHo Lower East Side TriBeCa Financial District Battery Park City Non-doorman 2,754 5,324 5,265 4,713 5,036 4,900 6,000 5,543 5,442 4,671 7,020 4,517 6,138 4,807 4,957 2,058 3,198 2,799 2,616 3,738 3,506 4,561 3,728 3,673 2,848 4,143 3,357 6,695 4,023-6
Notable Trends Renters Go Bargain Shopping 2009 seemed to be the year where renters capitalized on the market s decline. Prospective tenants combed the city for value, looking in trendier areas or for improved service. This desire for bargains drove deep discounts in traditionally less expensive neighborhoods such as Midtown, the East Village and the Lower East Side as landlords attempted to keep their properties competitive. Price of Service Falls Renter s desire to be more frugal during the recession led to signifi cant discounts in doorman properties. Landlords chopped rents and added incentives to make these units appeal to value-minded shoppers. Citywide average price changes over 2009 averaged an increase in non-doorman units of 0.26%, but fell by 4.39% in doorman buildings, thus closing the gap between service levels. Seasonality Trends Don t Hold Seasonal trends in vacancies and prices were markedly absent this year. While Manhattan generally sees an infl ux of renters during the summer months, changes in employment contracts and the absence of these prospective new tenants prevented landlords from raising rents, causing prices to re- main depressed through the fall. With many fall start dates being moved to 2010, we can only hope that the New Year will bring a new crop of renters into Manhattan and with them stability to the rental market. 7
Neighborhood Price Trends Upper West Side Upper West Side Average Price Changes Over 2009* Non- Studios -9.33% -1.35% One-bedrooms -8.10% 3.50% Two-bedrooms -5.70% 2.44% Upper East Side Upper East Side Average Price Changes Over 2009* Non- Studios -8.77% -2.80% One-bedrooms -7.92% -7.88% Two-bedrooms -10.01% -5.18% Midtown West Midtown West Average Price Changes Over 2009* Non- Studios -1.99% -7.05% One-bedrooms -12.16% -10.36% Two-bedrooms -7.40% -0.85% Midtown East Midtown East Average Price Changes Over 2009* Non- Studios -18.52% -16.06% One-bedrooms -8.62% -14.90% Two-bedrooms -16.80% -6.26% *Average price changes were obtained by calculating the percentage of change between the average asking rents at the start of 2009 (January) and at the end of 2009 (December). 8
Neighborhood Price Trends Murray Hill Murray Hill Average Price Changes Over 2009* Non- Studios -5.06% -6.56% One-bedrooms -6.66% -5.25% Two-bedrooms -0.37% 2.66% Chelsea Chelsea Average Price Changes Over 2009* Non- Studios -11.49% 3.48% One-bedrooms 11.56% -0.91% Two-bedrooms -12.62% -1.46% Gramercy Park Gramercy Park Average Price Changes Over 2009* Non- Studios -5.91% 0.76% One-bedrooms -10.46% 0.50% Two-bedrooms -2.86% -0.44% Greenwich Village Greenwich Village Average Price Changes Over 2009* Non- Studios -7.74% -8.62% One-bedrooms -7.20% 0.44% Two-bedrooms 6.72% -2.07% 9
Neighborhood Price Trends East Village East Village Average Price Changes Over 2009* Non- Studios -8.77% -12.07% One-bedrooms -2.45% -3.59% Two-bedrooms -3.54% -5.44% SoHo SoHo Average Price Changes Over 2009* Non- Studios 8.77% -9.81% One-bedrooms 33.65% -11.83% Two-bedrooms 29.19% 1.18% Lower East Side Lower East Side Average Price Changes Over 2009* Non- Studios 1.11% -22.35% One-bedrooms -10.05% -7.60% Two-bedrooms 1.74% -0.36% TriBeCa TriBeCa Average Price Changes Over 2009* Non- Studios 37.62% 5.09% One-bedrooms 31.53% -1.50% Two-bedrooms 23.17% -9.66% 10
Neighborhood Price Trends Financial District Financial District Average Price Changes Over 2009* Non- Studios 2.67% -5.76% One-bedrooms -7.13% -12.90% Two-bedrooms -6.23% -6.04% Battery Park City Battery Park City Average Price Changes Over 2009* Non- Studios - -0.63% One-bedrooms - -7.70% Two-bedrooms - -1.00% Harlem Harlem Average Price Changes Over 2009* Non- Studios 8.10% 2.11% One-bedrooms -3.89% -0.17% Two-bedrooms -4.61% 11.96% 11
The Report Explained The Manhattan Rental Market Report is the only report that compares fluctuation in the city s rental data on a monthly basis. It is an essential tool for potential renters seeking transparency in the NYC apartment market and a benchmark for landlords to effi ciently and fairly adjust individual property rents in Manhattan. The Manhattan Rental Market Report is based on data cross-sectioned from over 10,000 currently available listings located below 155th Street and priced under $10,000, with ultra-luxury property omitted to obtain a true monthly rental average. Our data is aggregated from the The Real Estate Group NY proprietary database and sampled from a specifi c mid-month point to record current rental rates offered by landlords during that particular month. It is then combined with information from the REBNY Real Estate Listings Source (RLS), OnLine Residential (OLR.com) and R.O.L.E.X. (Real Plus). Author: The Real Estate Group NY The Real Estate Group has been helping Manhattan landlords and renters navigate the rental market since 1999. From large companies to individuals, The Real Estate Group NY tailors services to meet your needs. Contact us today to see how we can help. Contact us now: 212.475.9000 Note: All market data is collected and compiled by The Real Estate Group NY s marketing department and is overseen by C.E.O. Daniel Baum. The information presented here is intended for instructive purposes only and has been gathered from sources deemed reliable, though it may be subject to errors, omissions, changes or withdrawal without notice. If you would like to republish this report on the web, please be sure to source it as the Manhattan Rental Market Report with a link back to its original location (http://www.tregny.com/manhattan_rental_market_report). 12