Results tagged “rentalmarket”

Painfully aware that they no longer have the upper hand in the bargaining process with renters, more and more landlords are taking the inevitable step to keep the tenants they have from looking for unbelievable Craigslist deals and simply cutting their rent—sometimes voluntarily. The Times talks to landlords who admit that they've been sending out new leases at renewal time with unexpected discounts since they've seen so many tenants eager to jump ship to test a buyer's market. After a big spike in new rentals this spring after a tremendously slow first quarter of the year, one president of an appraisal firm tells the Times, “There’s a confusion between more activity and rents rising. I think the spring saw more activity.” Making things worse is the fact that 14,000 new units are expected to come online in 2010 alone. While some renters are getting unsolicited price cuts, one Williamsburg resident had to make an offer he had his doubts about. Not only was it accepted, he didn't even have to renew his lease. He tells the paper, “After I got my rent lowered here, I started negotiating with everyone. I got my cable bill lowered!”

By now, it's known that the NYC housing market has been slowing down. But the wonder with how that's affecting the rental market will never get old. The NY Times has a long real estate feature on how rental prices are falling and landlords are offering incentives to lure or keep tenants. A woman moving from Los Angeles to Manhattan recounted, "I was expecting to live in a box" but "Everyone was paying the broker fee,. They were very flexible on their lease terms. One broker told me: ‘We’ll get it done for you. Just name your price and we’ll do it.’" She and her roommate ended up getting a two-bedroom, two-bath Midtown West apartment for $3650 (it was originally listed at $4200) plus, "After one month free and a $2,000 signing bonus, the total came to $3,215 monthly, and they did not have to pay the broker’s fee." Signing bonus? One month free? Who knew!

According to a report from Marcus & Millichap, the Real Deal reports the rental apartment vacancy rate will be 4.7% next year, "topping the previous record of 4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2003," thanks to "mounting job losses driv[ing] renters from the city." Which may mean more bargaining power for renters—if they want to go where there excess supply is expected, like Long Island City, Midtown West, the Financial District and southeastern Harlem. Further, homeowners who can't sell their homes may opt to rent them out, creating extra inventory. Some other data: The vacancy rate was 2.1% in 2007 and 3.4% in 2008.