The median asking price in New York City has continued to increase year-over-year and shows no signs of letting up. The prices have increased so much that even residents earning $135,000 a year are no longer able to afford rent.
In August, the median asking price for rental properties in New York City was $3,425, up $76 or 2.3% year-over-year. For perspective, the national median asking price is $1,753. That is down $2 from July 2024. New York City is one of the only major metro areas with increasing rents.
More specifically, the asking rent for units with 0 to 2 bedrooms was $3,367. That increased $135 or 4.2% year-over-year. However, the median rent for units with three or more bedrooms fell by 5.0% to $4,932.
"Although New York City was one of the rental markets that saw the steepest rent declines during the [COVID-19] pandemic, its median asking rent rebounded to pre-pandemic levels by spring 2022 and has continued to rise annually since then," Jiayi Xu, an economist for Realtor.com, said.
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Which Boroughs Saw the Largest Price Increase
Among all boroughs in NYC, Queens saw the largest increase in rent prices in August. The median asking price reached $3,427. That is up 11.1% from the same time in 2023 and 38.3% higher than the prices five years ago.
Other boroughs to have seen the largest price growth include the Bronz, where rents rose 7.8% year-over-year to $3,163, and Brooklyn, where prices increased by 5.1% to 3,790.
Wages in NYC Are Failing To Keep Up
With rent prices increasing, residents in NYC are increasingly struggling to afford housing. A market analysis from StreetEasy found that the citywide median asking rent hiked by 9% from 2022 to 2023. However, wages only increased by 1% on average last year, per the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
StreetEasy estimated that NYC residents would need to make $139,000 annually to afford a home comfortably. For perspective, the average gross annual wage in the city is $89,000. Tech workers, who have 50% higher wages than the average worker in the city, are also unable to afford rent despite making $135,000 a year.
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