Rents Falling, Vacancies Spiking: The NYC Rental Market Is Shifting

The rental market is triggering metrics not seen since the depths of the Great Recession, according to a new report on the state of the rental market in three New York City boroughs.

1 minute read

October 27, 2020, 5:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


New York Apartments

Ryan DeBerardinis / Shutterstock

"A record-high share of rent cuts contributed to a Manhattan median asking rent of $2,990 in the third quarter of 2020 — the first time this figure has been below $3,000 in nine years," reports Emily McDonald.

McDonald is sharing data from StreetEasy’s Q3 2020 Market Reports. The data includes several metrics that tell the story of a suddenly shifting rental market in the nation's most populous, and famously expensive, city.

"The share of Manhattan rental listings on StreetEasy that was discounted during the third quarter rose 22.7 percentage points year over year to a record high of 44.7%, " explain McDonald. "Meanwhile, rental inventory in Manhattan increased by 69.8%, with 72,267 listings available during the quarter — nearly 30,000 more than last year."

Among the other metrics from the report with no recent precedent is the decline of rent in all three boroughs analyzed in the report—Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens.

StreetEasy Economist Nancy Wu is quoted in the article saying "Renters are no longer willing to pay the commute premium of living in Manhattan when they do not need to commute to an office five days a week."

A lot more data from the report are available in the source article, including specific attention to each of three boroughs analyzed in the report and a long list of neighborhood-level data.

Friday, October 23, 2020 in StreetEasy

Young Professional

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

Get top-rated, practical training for planners

Overlapping highways

The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin

People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.

September 8, 2026 - Benjamin Schneider

The Hoover Dam blocking the Colorado River. The river's water level is noticeably low. The cliffs surrounding the blue water are brown and jagged.

US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico

A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.

September 11, 2026 - The Arizona Republic

Skyscrapers in Jersey City.

New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers

Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.

September 4, 2026 - The Cool Down

A New Jersey train approaches people waiting at the station.

Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds

A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.

September 15 - Mass Transit

A tall, gray power plant billows smoke into a blue sky.

EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants

Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.

September 15 - New York Times

A white RAPID bus. The lower half is light blue, and says RAPID in purple text. The bus is half visible, appearing from the left side of the image.

Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses

Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.

September 15 - KJZZ

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.