When is the best time to move

> My thoughts are that students will be exiting the city on June 1 so perhaps more apartments will be
> available?

Problem is with peak months, although more leases endm more start as well. I'd look for May, with June as a backup. Trying to time it won't work as well as spending the time to focus on what you really want.

If you shoot for June 1 and enter into several leases in successive years with "free" months added on, you will eventually be close to a winter start date, which is seasonally the best time to get deals. Right now, my impression is you can cut deals year-round.

actually, there will be students moving back to the city or students who just got jobs in the city for June, so May would be better.

Is there any info out there about rents going up for June 1st move ins?

"actually, there will be students moving back to the city or students who just got jobs in the city for June, so May would be better"

What you're missing is that for all those folks who did that LAST year, many will be LEAVING those apartments at the same time.

Folks keep missing this. Whatever the "hot" season is, it also means more leases END in this period.

I just found a great rental for myself and my fiance. All the brokers I've spoken with said there was no real "hot season" last summer. Basically, post-college hires were low (multiple articles floating around about this), so there may not be a massive uptick in available units this summer. That said, there are still tons of incentives out there even now.

We saw between 25 and 30 apartments (lost count). If you are looking for a place to stay a long time, it's worth looking early. In our case, we found a few areas and buildings we liked and sat on them until a unit we loved popped up. Also, it's worth finding a great broker who will help you "stay on the hunt." Time is your friend - use it to your advantage.

may

The best deals are in the winter but there is also a lot less apts available in the winter. Best to shoot for May... I been in rentals for 2 yrs.

@neurosiren Are you speaking Manhattan? The reason that I ask is that it looks like you took your sweet time. For a long, long time, it seemed that for manhattan apartments at least, brokers wouldn't bother to show you a place unless you were looking to move the following immediate first of the month. that they would explain it was a waste of time because it would soon be grabbed by someone else. Has this changed?

That's been my experience with a broker, but when I called the management companies directly I was able to work something out for a future move in date. It's all part of the negotiation, right?