The median asking price for rent in New York City rose in June 2024 compared to the same time the previous year, contributing heavily to less demand for rentals, according to a report by the real estate listing site StreetEasy.
Year-over-year, the median asking rent in New York City increased 1.3%, from $3,751 in June 2023 to $3,800 in June 2024. Over the same period of time, inventory of rentals on the market also increased, up 3.7%, from 35,869 in 2023 to 37,196 in 2024. However, even with a larger inventory, the higher rent and upfront costs are dampening the market for potential renters.
New York City residents who earned the city’s average annual wage in 2023 were unable to afford living in more than 95% of the rentals then. With the median rent having gone up since then, that percentage could end up going even further up by the end of 2024.
Even with the rental inventory now up from last year, more renters have been staying put due to affordability challenges. Additionally, the inventory is still much smaller than what was seen in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through June 2024, there were 20.4% fewer rentals on the market than in 2019. Rentals at lower price points have also become much scarcer since then, with the number of rentals priced under $2,650 in 2024 — the least expensive 20% of the rental market — being 66.8% less than in 2019.
High upfront costs, in addition to higher rents, are incentivizing renters to stay locked in to their current leases, with substantial barriers to mobility keeping vacancies low. According to StreetEasy, the average upfront cost in New York City is $10,454. Based on the 2022 American Community Survey census, the median household income for renters in the city is $74,694. Based on this data, these renters would have to dedicate 14% of their annual income on expenses to sign a new lease.
Renters with the median household income could pay up to $1,867 per month without being rent-burdened, defined by federal and local housing agencies as spending over 30% of a household’s annual income on rent. No-fee apartments in the city had an asking rent of $4,085 in June 2024, more than doubling how much the median household income can pay. Consequently, more people are forced to compete for less expensive units that have broker fees.
Among all the New York City boroughs, Queens experienced the most significant increase in median asking rent year-over-year, at $250. There was an increase of 8.8%, from $2,850 in June 2023 to $3,100 in June 2024. Rentals there also went up over this period of time, rising 11.1%, from 4,011 in 2023 to 4,456 in 2024. However, interest in new developments was not as strong in Queens as compared to Manhattan. The average new listing in Queens received 1.4% less inquiries than those in Manhattan.
