Manhattan rents surge on affordability concerns; Mamdani effect dismissed

Manhattan apartment rents are climbing sharply amid growing affordability concerns, an issue mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has pledged to rein in, according to a Bloomberg report.

 

Citing data, the report said that the new leases were signed at a median of $4,750 in November, up 13 per cent from a year earlier and 3.3 per cent in October. It further stated that all price metrics, including the median, average and price per square foot, skyrocketed in November, based on data available since 2008.

 

According to the report, the rental market usually cools in October and November as New Yorkers move into the holiday season. However, this year, the new leasing activity in Manhattan surged compared with the previous year, and nearly one in four apartments in the City rented above the asking price.

 

Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel, said that the latest data "solidifies the idea that there is no exodus and there is no Mamdani effect.” He further said, "In fact, there are people coming to the city and not enough supply," adding that the unseasonal surge was driven by the upper half of the market.

 

The most expensive ten per cent of Manhattan rentals recorded the strongest growth, with the median rent in this segment jumping nearly 18 per cent year-on-year to $11,500 in November.

 

Larger apartments, those with three or more bedrooms, posted the biggest annual increase of any size category, with median rents rising 27 per cent to $8,500, the report said.

 

“The luxury market is where the strength is for both rentals and sales,” Miller said, adding that higher rents are being underpinned by wage growth among top earners. “That says something about who is moving into the city.”

 

Rents also continued to climb in parts of the outer boroughs.

 

In Brooklyn, the median rent reached $3,804 in November, an 8.7 per cent increase from a year earlier. In northwest Queens, which includes neighbourhoods such as Astoria and Long Island City, the median rent rose 1.5 per cent year-on-year to $3,510.

 

Mamdani becomes the first Muslim mayor of NYC

 

34-year-old Democratic socialist Mamdani was elected New York City's mayor after defeating former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo. Born in Kampala, Uganda, Zohran's family moved to the US when he was about seven years old.

 

Uganda-born Mamdani centred his campaign on affordability, vowing to push for a rent freeze in rent-stabilised homes. He also pledged to work towards a universal childcare system for children from six months to five years, make bus travel free throughout the city, and set up five municipally owned and operated grocery stores, one in each borough.