The Fall of the Wall?

Here in NYC, we live in a housing market that already has low supply and high demand. Thereforre the rents are above average when compared to the rest of the country. To offset this and find a way to reap the benefits of living in Manhattan, many renters when looking for doorman buildings, have resorted to putting up temporary pressurized walls to create second or third bedrooms. This makes a $3500 one bedroom now affordable for two young professionals who can really only afford $1700 per month in rent.

This will soon be a thing of the past. This year, many landlords are no longer allowing walls to be erected and many are even going so far as to having existing walls removed. What many are being told, which is in compliance with a Department of Buildings code, is that they can only put up a partition or shelving unit which results in obviously, less privacy. The effect of this is massive, as many new tenants in the city rely on doorman buildings for the obvious benefits of security, as well as the convenience of on site staff for everything from repairs to package/dry cleaning reception. Few are the new hires who can come right out of college and afford a $3500 one bedroom at 40 times the monthly rent on thier own.

Many renters are now being forced to consider other areas of the city such as Washington Heights, Harlem, Long Island City and Brooklyn in order to get the same luxury at a more affordable price. The old "boundaries" of what was once deemed a safe area to live are being pushed further and further outwards and upwards with each week.

Rents are rising in Manhattan again!

I have watched the markets around the country plummet and not yet recover over the past six years. Here in Manhattan, that is just simply not the case. There is such an unbalanced set of supply and demand here that you can not imagine until you have lived here.

There are more people than there are apartments to rent. I got a client this weekend who called me on a three bedroom uptown. Upon talking to her I realized that she was actually trying to find enough space for FIVE people to share for under $3000! There are serious gaps in peoples perceptions of the market here.

Take a look at these statistics.
http://www.cityrealty.com/new-york-city-real-estate/carters-view/

The link above is great if you are thinking of moving into an apartment in Manhattan. I am quite sure many people feel that they can try to do it on their own without a broker. Do realize that it is possible, but you will have a long winding road. Even with a broker it is tough if he or she has no relationships or even worse, a bad one with the managing agents or landlords. There is very little time for the good apartments to be viewed and secured in this current market state. You must be pro-active and not reactive when trying to find a place during this time of year. There is only going to be less to choose from with each day and many young agents don't realize the cycle of turnaround.

I hope that these facts are helpful in your securing a new home. If you need any help, I am here to guide you home!