New York rents set records in the second quarter, turning up the financial stress on apartment hunters across the city.
Limiting housing costs to 30% of income — the general guideline in the US — has long been tough for New Yorkers, but the recent wave of rent increases has only made it harder.
“Renters are being squeezed to their limit by steep increases in rent but they still need places to live,” said StreetEasy economist Kenny Lee. Some people priced out of their preferred neighborhoods may be moving to less-expensive areas where, in turn, they’re contributing to rising rates, he said.
Throughout much of Manhattan and Brooklyn, median asking rents on active listings in the second quarter jumped 40% or more from the same period in 2021, when prices began inching up as Covid-19 vaccines became widely available.
