As the demand for housing increases across New York City's five boroughs, rent in the Big Apple is surging past pre-pandemic levels.
In the 12 months from Jan. 2021 to Jan. 2022 rent spiked 33%. A rate that is nearly double the U.S. national average. As the New York Times reported, the surge is the highest rate among the largest cities in the country.
Before the pandemic, the median rent price in New York City was $2,900 per month. By January the median rent price in the city jumped to $2,895, the New York Post reported.
Tom Smith, of the online brokerage site REZI, said, “With the average days on market down by over 40% since this time last year, draw backs in free months and increases in net rents are bound to happen.”
“While average vacancy cost has gone up by less than 5% since last year across all of NYC, certain neighborhoods throughout Brooklyn have seen higher increases closer to 15% — indicating that prices in these neighborhoods may be outpacing the already rapid increases of the market,” he said.
As Fortune reported at the end of January, housing prices across the nation have spiked with rent for a one-bedroom apartment jumping by 12%, hitting an all-time high.
A report from Zumper, called the nation's third-largest real estate platform, said that “For the National Index to move by double digits takes incredible rent growth everywhere, and that’s exactly what occurred.”
The report, which was updated at the end of February, said, “The sudden increase in housing demand since the pandemic began in March 2020 exacerbated what was already a national housing shortage that dates back to the financial crisis in 2008, after which annual housing production dropped substantially. While some of the post-pandemic demand might fade as the pandemic becomes endemic, the housing shortage is a long-term issue that will likely continue to push rent up in 2022.”
