NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) -- New York City apartment rents hit new highs in July even as there were signs that prospective tenants pulled back from the market as it entered its traditional peak season.
Prices on new leases signed last month set records in the three boroughs surveyed by appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate. Manhattan’s median was $4,400, up 2.3% from June. Rents jumped 11% in Brooklyn to $3,950, and in northwest Queens — including Astoria and Long Island City — the median climbed 1.9% to $3,641.
Landlords are continuing to test apartment hunters’ limits and are finding that some are willing to pay. But the number of lease signings declined from a year earlier and last month across all three boroughs, a hint that renters may have hit the affordability wall.
“We’re arriving at the tolerance level of the market,” said Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel. “Prices are rising, reaching new records. Leasing activity is weakening, likely due to the record rents — tenants aren’t getting relief.”
Miller doesn’t see much relief on the horizon either. August could bring even higher rents as families and students move into new apartments ahead of the start of the school year.
In New York, “the economy — despite half-empty office towers — remains vibrant and there is a drive to continuing to be here,” he said.
This story originally appeared on Bloomberg.com.
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