Citi Habitats Releases February Market Report

Prices for studios, one bedrooms, two bedrooms are lower than they were in December but three bedrooms held somewhat steadier–no surprise as shareable three-bedroom apartments represented better value from the outset.

How Much Did a Doorman Cost You in February 2009?

Prices continue to decline across the board and it looks like a doorman is one of those amenities that people are more willing to forgo in tough times as the price of apartments in doorman buildings declines faster and more dramatically than comparable non-doorman buildings.

Citi Habitats December Market Report: Vacancy Rates by Neighborhood

This is one of my favorite parts of the market report–the breakdown by neighborhood. The big surprise is that the West Village now has one of the highest vacancy rates at 2.42% (up from .49% in August!) and the only neighborhood below 2% is Soho/TriBeCa.

Manhattan Vacancy Rates Continue to Rise.

Manhattan is still a place where people want to live and where many people have to live because of their jobs. In the late 1990’s, vacancies hovered around 4%, and anything under 5% is still considered to be an extremely tight market. We’ve all gotten used to a frenzied, feverish tone being attached to all things real estate, whether the market’s going up or going down. On this chart we can see the gradual and steady rise of vacancies since May. Anyone think we’re gonna hit 4% by the middle of winter?

See also: Manhattan Rental Market Vacancies, June 2008

How Does Your Rent Compare? Citi Habitats Releases August Rental Market Report

Gloom! Doom! Etc, etc. Vacancies are up, apartments are sitting on the market longer and renters are being offered ever more incentives to sign on the dotted line. The higher end of the market is definitely the most negatively affected by the economic slowdown and the problems on Wall Street, so it’s no surprise that the Financial District and Battery Park City are currently the best neighborhoods to cash in on landlord-offered incentives like a free month’s rent and no broker’s fee. Units that are priced competitively in relation to market conditions, apartments that are located in  desirable neighborhoods like the West Village or are exceptionally renovated are moving as quickly as ever. Now, on to the charts! When compared to the chart of average rents in June, the table below shows some contraction in the one-,two-, and four-bedroom categories, but a small increase in the price of three-bedrooms.

How Does Your Rent Compare? Citi Habitats Releases June Rental Market Report

My brokerage, Citi Habitats, rents the most apartments of any firm in the city (over 10,000 last year) and their monthly rental market reports are fascinating and should be indispensable for anyone thinking of renting an apartment in the coming months. The first chart depicts the average rents that you can expect to pay for the various size apartments in different Manhattan Neighborhoods: