Fire escape stairs of apartments in Manhattan, New York City, United States of America on July 6th, 2024. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
High rents are not a new phenomenon in New York City, but paired with steep upfront costs, many are finding it tough to secure their next home.
A new StreetEasy market report for the month of June shows that renters across the city are sticking put and staying in their current homes for longer thanks to those two factors.
The median rent across the Big Apple in June rose by 1.3% compared to the same month last year. That figure stands at $3,800.
There is a silver lining there, however: rents stayed relatively flat from May to June, at a time when we'd normally see a summer rise. Despite a gradual uptick in housing inventory, there are still a number of factors challenging renters in the city.
Costs remain an inhibiting factor when renters consider their next home. StreetEasy said that New Yorkers who earn the city's median wage couldn't afford more than 5% of all rentals last year.
And according to the 2022 American Community Survey, the median income in New York City was $74,694. At that income figure, a renter could pay up to $1,867 without being "rent-burdened," StreetEasy points out.
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Now take the median asking price for an apartment. The average asking price for an apartment without a broker fee sits around $4,085, more than double what a medium income earner would spend without being rent burdened.
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Where does that leave most New York City renters: competing for cheaper apartments with broker fees. The average listing with a broker fee received 45.2% more inquiries this year, StreetEasy found.
But broker fees, paired with first month's rent and a security deposit, make for pricey obstacles to overcome. On average, those three upfront costs total more than $10,000. That figure has jumped nearly 30% since 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
New developments have added 3.7% more units, but overall, inventory is still low -- with only 20% of units listed as affordable housing. The Bronx is the borough with the cheapest rent and highest inventory at market rate.
