Manhattan is facing significant rent increases, and residents are worried. Supply and demand forces are at play as residents who left during the pandemic return to the city. However, rent-stabilized properties aren’t safe either. According to The Rent Guidelines Board, the board held virtual meetings and public hearings to discuss increasing rent prices in rent-stabilized apartments up to 4.5% for one-year leases and up to 9% for two-year leases.
According to the CEO and founder of Platinum Properties, Khashy Eyn, Eyn states, “An apartment that we rented in Tribeca at $4,200 pre-COVID, right? We listed for $5,000. We got into a bidding war and ended up getting it for $6,000.” Eyn also states, “So now you have people that left that came back, people that came here that can never afford Manhattan but were able to afford it due to the rent being low. Those people, I guess, love living in Manhattan so much that they’ve been able to maintain and keep their rents and not move out.”
The decrease in rent during the pandemic was mainly due to landlords trying to attract tenants to deal with the loss of tenants. Since then, landlords have had to adjust to the housing market boom. Therefore, many landlords are forced to end any negotiations and offer discounts to suffice for increasing tenants. Renters and New Yorkers are now forced to either pay for the increased rent or simply leave their homes.
However, it’s not just rent that is going up for renters. According to the Rent Guidelines Board, costs are going up for landlords too. The tremendous increase in the price of homeownership is burdening those who want to purchase houses, driving them to rent instead. People eager to buy houses, whether single-family homes or condos are forced to opt to rent, increasing rental prices.
Regardless of this, rent will likely keep rising as many New York citizens are now required to return to their jobs in person, boosting demand for apartments and homes.
