Manhattan rents rising shockingly fast

NEW YORK - Manhattan residents renewing their leases are facing major rent increases.

"An apartment that we rented in Tribeca at $4,200 pre-COVID, right? We listed for $5,000," Platinum Properties founder and CEO Khashy Eyn said. "We got in a bidding war — ended up getting it for $6,000." 

Many people who left the city during the pandemic have returned, he said, so the rising rents are due to supply-and-demand forces.

"So now you have people that left that came back, people that came here that can never afford Manhattan but were able to afford it due to the rent being so low," Eyn said. "Those people, I guess, love living in Manhattan so much and that they've been able to maintain and keep their rents and not move out." 

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Those living in rent-stabilized apartments also face potential rent hikes. The Rent Guidelines Board held virtual public hearings about the board's recommendation to increase rents in rent-stabilized apartments up to 4.5% for a one-year lease and up to 9% for a two-year lease.

The Rent Guidelines Board also heard from landlords, who say their costs have gone up, too. Housing has costs and those costs must be covered by rent, said Ann Korchak of the group SPONY, or the Small Property Owners of New York.