- According to a report from Douglas Elliman, Manhattan's rental market saw the number of new leases drop to a record low in April compared to the same time last year.
- However, both Manhattan's non-luxury and luxury market market also saw an increase in median rent.
- In addition, Brooklyn and Queens also saw increases in median rent and huge drops in the number of new listings.
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In the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, many Manhattan renters have opted to renew their leases for the year as they continue to follow stay-at-home orders.
In fact, according to an April market report from Douglas Elliman, the number of new leases in Manhattan saw a 70.9% year-over-year decrease to 1,407. According to the report, that is the lowest number of new leases recorded in a decade and the largest percent decline ever recorded.
The Elliman report credits that decline to the coronavirus pandemic, stating that "new leasing activity declined at record rates due to the COVID-19 shutdown, while the market share of lease renewals surged as tenants sought relief,"
In addition, the report found that the April vacancy rate, which was 2.42%, was the highest recorded in at least 14 years.
But Manhattan's median rent price actually rose in the midst of these declines, and was up 4.9% compared to April 2019, to $3,650. The rental price per square foot was up 9% to $74.20.
Like the non-luxury market, Manhattan's luxury market saw a drastic year-over-year drop in the number of new leases, down 71.1% compared to April 2019.
And, like the non-luxury market, the median rent for the higher end also saw a year-over-year increase, up 5.5% to $8,650.
Queens and Brooklyn saw a similar April fate
Both Brooklyn and Queens saw the number of new leases in April drop by more than 60% compared to the same time last year.
In Queens, the number of new leases fell by 64.9% to 100, and in Brooklyn, the number of new leases fell 66.8% to 439.
"The record decline in new leasing activity due to the Coronavirus crisis indicated that renewal activity was where the weakness in rental price trends could be found," the report reads.
"Renewal leasing activity surged in response to the sharp drop in new leasing activity caused by COVID-19 shelter in place rules, skewing aggregate new leasing price trends higher,"
But, like Manhattan, both markets saw a year-over year increase in the median rent price.
In Queens, the median rental price rose by 4.2% to $2970. And in Brooklyn, the median rental price shot up 14.4% to $3,259, a new record, according to the report.
The rental market still faces obstacles, such as rent strikes, as the pandemic drags on
As of May 6, 80.2% of apartment households were able to make full or partial rent payments.
To arrive at that percentage, the National Multifamily Housing Council's Rent Payment Tracker surveyed 11.4 million units of professionally managed apartment units across the US.
The tracker found that May's 80.2% was an improvement on April, which saw 78% of rents paid, and a slight decrease from 81.7% in May 2019.
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, the unexpectedly high amount of renters able to make payments in May points to the effectiveness of stimulus checks and expanded unemployment benefits, but some fear that won't continue to be enough.
If policy makers don't address the stress renters are under because of the pandemic, mass evictions, deteriorating housing stock, and a real estate or housing market crash are all at stake, a report by the Urban Institute predicts.
"We argue that there is a need for a national rental assistance program. None of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act programs provide that," the report reads.
The hashtags #CancelRent and #CantPayMay have been trending on Twitter in response to the growing unemployment rate. And a group called Westriketogether.org claims that around 200,000 people across the US have signed petitions committing to not pay rent until the government takes action on rent, as noted by the WSJ.
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