Real Estate Group Says Manhattan Rental Market Soft
Not sure if this is a reliable indicator of Wall Street employment, but rents for serviced apartments in Manhattan have been trending down since last September.
According to the Real Estate Group’s February Manhattan Rental Market Report, “the rebound in rents typically seen at the beginning of a new year bypassed January altogether in 2008 and instead held out for February. This month, the citywide price declines of the past few months finally slowed and, in the case of non-doorman buildings, even reversed, though slightly. On the other hand, citywide doorman rents continued to creep downward through February.”
It seems that many renters have opted to forgo the luxury of doorman buildings for more reasonably-priced apartments, keeping demand healthy and inventory low, and nudging prices upward for non-doorman units.
“In general, however, we’re seeing more inventory on the market than we have in a long time, and landlords struggling with excessive vacancies continue to offer concessions to support existing prices or attract new tenants quickly,” Real Estate Group said.
Battery Park City doorman rents fell by 6% for studios, almost 4% for one-bedrooms and about 6% for two-bedrooms. “It appears that New Yorkers who require proximity to downtown and Wall Street may be slowly spreading out into Battery Park City’s up-and-coming neighbor to the east: The Financial District. A tide of new development has left the Financial District overflowing with reasonably-priced, amenity-rich doorman units (and landlords who offer concessions to fill them), making this area an attractive alternative to Battery Park City. 
With layoffs looming at Citi and other Wall Street firms, landlords may have to look elsewhere for tenants.
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