NYC rents softening; landlords offering concessions

NEW YORK - Relief for some New York City renters may be on the way. Real estate agents say record-high rents are finally starting to stabilize. 

"We are actually at a plateau — people are seeing it slow down," Frances Katzen, an associate broker at Douglas Elliman, said. "Landlords are now putting concessions in — one to two months free rent, which we had not seen the whole of the summer."

NYC inflation

Although rents have started to decline, inflation has increased the cost of just about everything else, from gasoline to groceries. It means the high cost of living in New York is driving the lowest wage earners out of the city. 

"We found that the workers earning typical wages in key industries, including transportation, health care, and services," StreetEasy economist Kenny Lee said, "nearly 90% of the rental inventory this summer was out of reach on unless they spend more than half of their income just on rent."

It is anyone's guess whether rents will continue to come down and if so how quickly.

Lee said that renters should be flexible if they want to stay in New York City.

"We found out that a renter can save at least $13,000 per person if the renter chooses to live with a roommate with additional income," Lee said. 

He added that property owners could be more open to negotiating rents right now than in recent months.