Rental Prices Revisited

I check out the ads in the New York Times on Sundays and it is interesting how flat they've been over the long term the last couple of years.

There's always some seasonal variation and I think they are down a little bit now on average.

There is a real estate group that comes out with monthly reports. I think their most recent one had more increases than decreases but nothing super-significant.

On the higher end, they do seem to be up, with Related renting two bedrooms for 7200/month on average and 9400 a month at Union Square. http://www.relatedrentals.com/New_York_Rentals/apartment_search.html

My own theory is that because of price softness, sellers are going to hang on their places wherever possible and rent them out. Given the overall financial situation, this will probably pull rental prices down a bit. Sales prices, too, but not at levels the bears on this board are predicting.

One truism I keep repeating, though: Change is happening fast these days. The downturn will not last as long as some think. But on the downside, I see an economy of Ws lasting for a while. WWWWWW

What a legacy!

rents still going down...

http://curbed.com/archives/2008/10/28/manhattan_rental_slump_continues_more_drops_coming.php

This is just the beginning.

rents seem very weak to me. brokers are telling you to "just put in a bid."

Several of my friends and co-workers have received increases, but they were not huge increases and several were able to negotiate to a smaller increase.

I can't recall in which thread cccharley and I were having a conversation on Windsor Court, but I ran into a friend this morning who is in negotiations with the building. The management company has conceded flat pricing for existing residents as a starting point, but is now offering 1 month free for new residents. My friend is trying to negotiate a month free, since it is unlikely that they will cut his rent in a negotiation. If I get an update I will post it.

This is a very long list of available rentals for Ogden Cap which includes Windsor Court.
Up until about a week ago, prices were listed for each apartment. Is the blank space for the prices an invitation to negotiate?

http://ogdencapproperties.com/EN/availabilities/apartments/

Jasper- is your friend a current resident? I have to renew in December so would love to know the outcome and if possible his rent - I know I'm nosy but I'm so sick of paying this crazy rent and increases

At the time that I tried to negotiate, several weeks ago, the management office was unwilling to do less than a 2% raise; things have definitely changed. I can only speak to recent history, but the number of apartments listed at Windsor is not much different than a month and a half ago and is actually down from some of the data I have from mid-September. While it may be possible that Ogden is withholding apartments from the website to make their vacancy seem less, there has certainly been fluctuation in the listed apartments (as well as some sitting inventory that have been on the site for that whole period). Also, it could be that many existing tenants are not renewing (like myself), so management is preparing for the vacancy to skyrocket in coming months.

Gateway Plaza, where I'm moving, has actually already shown a major increase in listings. I thought inventory was tight when I was negotiating my lease a couple of weeks ago and now NYBits shows +50 apartments available immediately (although it is a massive complex, so 50 apartments represents only 3% vacancy, there were less than 20 listings when I starting eying the apartment).

So funny - we were going to move to Gateway in 2002 but moved to Windsor instead. I didn't want to face ground zero. I paid the same for 1 br here than a 2 br there at the time. Have they renovated?

cccharley - yep. he did some investigating and found out that new residents are being offered the free month. now he is going to try to get the same deal. It makes sense to me for the management company to accept the offer, as it will cost money to fix up the apartment (paint, reglaze tub, etc.) and will take time to find a new tenant. That being said, I am of the impression that that logic is often lost on owners (in general, not anyone specific including Ogden) and that they see the inconvenience/cost of moving as their bargaining chip. To that point, we hired movers from Chinatown that were recommended by a friend that just used them for a move and it's only costing us $500 for the move (we're boxing everything ourselves and paid for the supplies as well, but still less expensive than the quotes I got from the movers recommended on this site). At that rate, we can move and pay for a vacation (to compensate for the aggravation) with a free month's rent.

They fixed the elevators, which I understand was a major issue for Gateway residents. The exteriors are currently being fixed; I guess that is more an issue for some one looking at the building as opposed to us looking out of the building (I will have a great view of the marina). Our unit will have all new appliances, which are much better than what we currently have at Windsor, although I know that Windsor is/was renovating. I don't remember the common areas being either particularly good or bad - more like a push from our current situation. We are definitely getting more space for our money, but the rent for the 1br is only a couple hundred less a month than our current 1br. The free month is what really what sealed the deal for us, as it represents about half of the total savings of moving.