New York City’s rental market continued to set new records in July, with rising prices and escalating bidding wars underscoring the pressure facing tenants across the five boroughs.
According to the monthly report from appraiser Miller Samuel and brokerage Douglas Elliman, median rent in Manhattan climbed to $4,700 last month — a 9.3 percent increase from July 2024. It marks the second-largest annual gain since the reports began in 2008.
Competition for available units intensified as well. Nearly 29 percent of leases signed in Manhattan followed bidding wars, the highest rate on record. Analysts point to the lingering effects of the FARE Act, enacted in June to restrict landlord-borne broker fees, as a factor that temporarily constrained supply and pushed rents higher.
Seasonal pressures also played a role. Summer typically brings an influx of recent graduates and families moving before the school year, but industry experts note that this year’s conditions are unusually tight. Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel, said the pool of renters is being further crowded by would-be homebuyers who are remaining in the rental market while waiting for mortgage rates to ease.
The sharpest increases were concentrated at the lower end of the market. Median rent for the bottom 30 percent of listings rose 14.3 percent year-over-year to $3,200. Luxury rents, by contrast, increased 5 percent to a median of $10,500. Miller noted that higher-income renters are less constrained by financing costs, as many could opt to buy with cash rather than contend with mortgage rates.
Across the East River, conditions were similar. Median rent in Brooklyn rose 6.9 percent to $3,850, the second-highest level on record for the borough. Northwest Queens recorded an 8.7 percent annual increase to $3,750, with bidding war activity approaching levels seen in Manhattan.
With August historically matching July as one of the most competitive months for leasing, we expect market pressures to remain elevated through the end of the summer.
