Smaller, cheaper NYC apartments are in higher demand: Report

When it comes to renting New York City apartments, more affordable — if less spacious — units are all the rage.

That’s according to listings portal Realtor.com, which exclusively shared its July rental report with The Post. Findings include the fact that in July, the median rent on zero- (or studio) to two-bedroom units increased by 2.2% year-over-year to $3,322, while the median rent on three-plus bedrooms fell by 5%, to $4,996.

In addition to experiencing a notable rent increase, Realtor.com also found there to be “greater demand for smaller rental units” compared to larger apartments.

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The demand was also determined to be up in “relatively affordable boroughs” — or, anywhere but Manhattan.

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While median asking rents in Manhattan decreased for the 13th consecutive month in July — this time by 2% to $4,489, $171 lower than its pre-pandemic level — median asking rents increased by 3.5% to $3,718 in Brooklyn, 7.7% to $3,175 in The Bronx and 8.2% to $3,380 in Queens.

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Thus, in order to afford renting an average home in the boroughs while not spending more than a third of gross household income on rent, tenants needed to have respectively made $179,560 a year in Manhattan, $148,720 a year in Brooklyn, $127,000 in The Bronx and $135,200 in Queens. (Data for Staten Island, the report notes, “is currently under review.”)

Despite the slight dip in Manhattan rent, Realtor.com’s report determined that New York City is, generally, still becoming more expensive — a stark contrast to many other American cities.

“In contrast to the overall declining trend seen across the top 50 markets , the median asking rent in NYC continues to rise annually, increasing by $73 or 2.2% compared to a year ago,” the report’s writers noted. “Although NYC was one of the rental markets that saw the steepest rent declines during the pandemic, its median asking rent rebounded to pre-pandemic levels by Spring 2022 and has continued to rise annually since then.”

Indeed, July 2024’s median asking rent for all rental properties listed on Realtor.com across the boroughs was $3,421, 13.7% higher than it was pre-pandemic, in July 2019.

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