Manhattan has never looked less appealing to prospective renters.
According to Manhattan real estate appraisals done by Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel, rental vacancies in Manhattan are up triple what they were a year ago. The more than 15,000 empty rental apartments, up from 5,600 a year ago, are evidence of a dramatic exit from a city that was the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the spring.
The number is the highest recorded since data started being collected on the Manhattan real estate market close to 15 years ago. Jonathan Miller, CEO of Miller Samuel, said that real estate agents outside the city were recording a surge in buyers fleeing Manhattan.
“The rental market is weak and getting weaker,” Miller said. “The first-time buyers in outlying areas are largely coming from the Manhattan rental market.”
Though prices in the area have fallen as much as 4% in August alone, the average of $4,756 for a two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan has kept coronavirus-weary renters from moving back. Prices for a one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan have fallen as much as 5% to $3,445 per month during the pandemic as landlords attempt to sway prospective renters back into a city that has struggled with crime and disease for the better part of the year.
