Manhattan rents rise to an all-time high

Rents in Manhattan are once again hitting new record highs, after cratering during the pandemic.

The median monthly rent for a Manhattan apartment was a record $3,700 in February. That was up 24% from a year ago and up an unusually large 4.2% from January, according to a report from brokerage Douglas Elliman and appraisal firm Miller Samuel.

"What we're seeing is a rapid rebound and an unprecedented climb in rental prices," said Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of Miller Samuel. "In all categories, everything is going up."

Rise in bidding wars

Demand is surging for rental apartments, which means the "pandemic pricing" deals offered just a year or two ago have now been replaced by bidding wars.

The net-effective median rent, or the amount tenants pay after factoring in incentives from landlords, spiked by a record 28% from last year to $3,630 a month as these incentives dried up. New leases with concessions, like one or two months of rent knocked off a yearlong lease, dropped from 41% a year ago to just 20% in February.

The last time the net-effective rent was that high was in April 2020, at $3,540 a month, after the pandemic's onset but before the bottom fell out of the rental market. But the amount tenants paid in February was 7.1% higher than pre-pandemic rent in February 2020.

Prices are rising across the board as many New York City businesses return to in-person work, boosting demand.

A year ago, roughly 1% of new apartments leased at a rent higher than listed because of a bidding war, said Miller, which is close to a typical rate. But, in February, 18% of Manhattan apartments rented for more than the asking price.