Manhattan Market Intelligence

Last week, I highlighted some benefits of homeownership, particularly given NYC's exorbitantly high rents. Reportedly, only 5 percent of apartment rentals are affordable on the average local worker’s salary. Some of you expressed interest in buying a home but had concerns about upfront costs, maintenance fees, taxes, and other expenses. To address these considerations, there are several financial tools available to help weigh the costs of buying versus renting. Fortunately,

Despite expectations that rental prices had peaked, they've continued soaring to record-breaking highs . Last month's news of stagnant interest rates prompted some prospective buyers to pivot , flooding an already saturated market with additional renters. However, despite the uptick in rates, Greg Heym, Chief Economist at Brown Harris Stevens, notes that while mortgage rates have risen, they remain nearly 1 percent lower than the average rate over the past 50 years. This bri

According to a recent market analysis, New York City is experiencing a staggering rise in rental costs , outpacing wage growth by a significant margin—seven times faster to be exact. While average wages in the city increased modestly by about 1.2 percent last year, median rents surged by a striking 8.6 percent, as reported by Zillow rental data and the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics. This gap between wage and rent growth is unparalleled among the top metropolitan regions, wi

PropertyShark just released its annual list of the Top 50 Most Expensive NYC Neighborhoods for Q1 2024. Notably, two of this year's top three neighborhoods, Hudson Yards and Tribeca, retained their top positions from the previous year's rankings for the same period. Joining them this year is Soho, ascending from its previous 4th spot in 2023 to the 2nd most expensive neighborhood this year, edging out Brooklyn’s Vinegar Hill which ranked as 3rd most expensive NYC neighborh