Bloomberg article

Manhattan Apartment Rents Drop as Unemployment Curbs Leasing By Oshrat Carmiel June 24 (Bloomberg) -- Manhattan apartment rents fell as much as 12.3 percent in June from a year earlier as unemployment curbed demand for new leases, the Real Estate Group of New York said in a report today. Average rents declined for apartments of all sizes, the brokers said. Rents for one-bedroom units in buildings... [more]

Manhattan Apartment Rents Drop as Unemployment Curbs Leasing By Oshrat Carmiel June 24 (Bloomberg) -- Manhattan apartment rents fell as much as 12.3 percent in June from a year earlier as unemployment curbed demand for new leases, the Real Estate Group of New York said in a report today. Average rents declined for apartments of all sizes, the brokers said. Rents for one-bedroom units in buildings with doormen saw the greatest yearly decline, falling to an average of $3,786 a month. Two-bedrooms in buildings without doormen had the next biggest drop: 11.3 percent to $4,069 a month. New York City unemployment rate hit 9 percent last month, the second-biggest jump in 33 years, according to state Labor Department data. The rate was the highest since October 1997 and climbed from 8 percent in April. “Demand does not appear to be enough to uplift rents as we’ve become accustomed to seeing in the summer months,” said Daniel Baum, chief operating officer of the Real Estate Group, in a statement. “Additionally we’ve noticed landlords, that had been previously testing the market by removing tenant concessions, have added these incentives back into the mix this month,” Baum said. The survey is based on data from 10,000 apartment listings, the broker said. The rents are a snapshot taken June 15 and compared with a year earlier. For Related News and Information: Top Bloomberg News real estate stories: TOPR Stories on the U.S. property industry: TNI US REL Stories on the homebuilding industry: NI HOM --Editors: Sharon L. Lynch, Alan Mirabella To contact the reporter on this story: Oshrat Carmiel in New York at +1-212-617-3317 or ocarmiel1@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alan Mirabella at +1-212-617-4149 or amirabella@bloomberg.net. [less]