NYC rents skyrocket as pandemic wanes

NEW YORK - The idea of renting an apartment for cheap in New York City may be impossible for many people, according to a new report. 

According to a new report by ApartmentGuide.com, while the city's infamously high rents had plummeted during the worst of the pandemic, as the nation slowly makes its way out of the pandemic rent prices across the city have spiked.

Rents for some apartments fell by roughly a third during 2020, and reached their lowest point in February 2021, when average rents for one-bedroom apartments were down nearly a third from the year before, bottoming out at $2,927. 

But as vaccine distribution began in earnest, rents saw a rebound, increasing by 10 percent to begin the summer of 2021. By the end of the season, one-bedroom rent prices in Manhattan had risen 8% year-to-year.

Between August 2020 and August 2021, one-bedroom rent prices rose over 36%, wiping out any previous losses during that time. Across the nation, one-bedroom apartments only saw a jump of just 9%. 

Two-bedroom apartments followed a steadier path, according to the report, seeing a year-over-year drop of almost 18% in February 2021. However, by the end of the summer, prices rebounded, peaking in August 2021 to 35% higher than they were in 2020 and continuing to rise.

The rise in the price of two-bedroom apartments in the city is also outpacing the rest of the nation, which saw August's two-bedroom price increases of just 7.2%. 

However, not all hope is lost for renters. According to the report, the average price for both one- and two-bedroom apartments fell by two percent and almost 5 percent, respectively, during the latter part of the summer (July to August). This may be due to the market having overcorrected and returning to normal levels and the fact that the pandemic is not yet over. 

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