Mansion Global

Ultra-Luxury Manhattan Rentals Cooled in April

Both median and average rents for $15,000-plus leases fell by around 11%

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Luxury rentals in Manhattan and Brooklyn both cooled in April, according to Douglas Elliman.

Matteo Colombo/Getty Images
Luxury rentals in Manhattan and Brooklyn both cooled in April, according to Douglas Elliman.
Matteo Colombo/Getty Images

Manhattan’s ultra-luxury rentals cooled off in April, with both the median and average rents for those leases—priced at $15,000 a month and more—posting double-digit declines, according to data compiled for Mansion Global by real estate appraisal firm Miller Samuel.

There were 52 ultra-luxury leases signed in April, unchanged from the same period last year. However, the median rent fell 11% to $18,250 per month, while the average rent was also down 10.6% to $21,177, according to Jonathan Miller, chief executive of  Miller Samuel.

The next tier, apartments with monthly rents of $10,000 and above, fared much better, with 128 leases signed in April. The median rent fell slightly—0.2%— year-over-year to $13,475, according to Mr. Miller.

Across the overall Manhattan luxury rental market, defined as the top 10% priciest leases, the median rent remained flat at $7,995 in April. The average rent, meanwhile, was down 2.2% year-over-year to $9,659 per month, according to a Douglas Elliman report Thursday, also prepared by Mr. Miller.

When taking into account landlords’ concessions, Manhattan’s high-end rental market actually was weaker than a year ago, according to Mr. Miller.  

About 41.4% of all luxury leases in April had a concession, compared to 29.3% in April 2017. Meanwhile, the average concession reached an equivalent of 1.3 months of free rent, rising from 1.2 months a year ago, according to Mr. Miller.

More:David Geffen Sells Manhattan Apartment for $24.5 Million

The majority of rental developments built over the last five years "skewed toward luxury, and oversupply in this market forced landlords to offer concessions in order to keep vacancy rate low," Mr. Miller said.

Manhattan Luxury Rental Market in April
Segment/Market share Median Rent Y-O-Y
$15,000+/top 1.1% $18,250 -11%
$10,000+/top 2.6% $13,475 -0.2%
$6,250/top 10% $7,995 0%
Source: Miller Samuel

In Brooklyn, the median luxury rent fell 4.6% to $5,387 a month. The share of leases with landlord concessions jumped to 52.4% in April, almost triple the share of 16.7% in April 2017.