Manhattan rents hit record high as Mamdani won mayoral election

[NEW YORK] Rents for Manhattan apartments surged to a record high in November, as Zohran Mamdani won the mayoral election in large part due to affordability concerns.

New leases were signed at a median of US$4,750 in the month, up 13 per cent from a year earlier and 3.3 per cent from October, according to data from appraiser Miller Samuel and brokerage Douglas Elliman.

In fact, all price metrics – the median, average and price per square foot – hit records in November, according to data going back to 2008.

Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel, said the latest data “solidifies the idea that there is no exodus and there is no Mamdani effect”.

“In fact, there are people coming to the city and not enough supply,” he added.

The rental market typically cools in October and November as New Yorkers head into the holiday season. But this year, new leasing activity in Manhattan increased compared with the prior year, and roughly one in four apartments rented above asking price.

The unseasonal surge was driven by the upper half of the market, Miller said.

The top 10 per cent of Manhattan rentals saw greater price gains than all other tiers, jumping nearly 18 per cent annually to a median of US$11,500 in November.

And the biggest apartments, or those with three or more bedrooms, saw the largest annual gains compared to all other rentals, increasing 27 per cent to a median of US$8,500.

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“The luxury market is where the strength is for both the rental and sales market,” said Miller, who noted rising rents are also being supported by wage growth for the highest earners. “That says something about the inbound migration in the city.”

Rent prices in some of the city’s outer boroughs also continued to rise.

The median rent on Brooklyn leases was US$3,804 in November, up 8.7 per cent from the year prior. Northwest Queens, an area which includes Astoria and Long Island City, saw median rents increase 1.5 per cent from a year ago to US$3,510. BLOOMBERG