NYC rental prices up, availability drops

NEW YORK - Tenants looking for a new apartment in New York City are being hit with a double-whammy.

Sky-high prices and limited inventory have made the search for a new place to live difficult, as a new study from housing website StreetEasy shows that the number of available rental units dropped to just 60,000 at the end of 2021, down from 128,000 a year earlier.

The study also found that fluctuating prices weren't working in renters' favor, with apartments renting for an average of $2,700 across the five boroughs, up just over 8 percent from 2020. 

Landlords are no longer working as hard to entice renters either. In the first quarter of 2021, almost half of all rental listings in Manhattan offered concessions to potential tenants, but less than 20 percent did by the fourth quarter of the year. 

"The market is in the process of normalizing after nearly two years of uncertainty. That’s good news for the city’s recovery overall, but, understandably, many renters or hopeful renters might be feeling uneasy right now," said StreetEasy economist Nancy Wu. 

Earlier this month, New York's eviction moratorium came to an end, although its Emergency Rental Assistance Program still proves some protections.