“Renters Moving Out Versus Paying Higher Prices,” Top NYC Landlord Says 

The first sign that the red-hot New York City apartment rental market has hit a snag could be the increasing number of apartment renters not renewing leases, as average rents hit a record high in March. 

“Deal seekers choose to move out versus paying the higher current price,” Equity Residential’s CEO Mark Parrell told investors during an earnings call on Wednesday.

Parrell said, “We’re renewing about 60% of our residents, which is healthy, but 5% lower than at the beginning of the year.”  

Equity Residential’s NYC apartment building locations. 

Equity Residential’s renewed 1Q22 leases in NYC saw a 21% rent hike, compared with a 14.5% hike in the fourth quarter of 2021. New agreements were even higher, with a 29.7% increase in 1Q22. The company’s NYC area apartment building portfolio spans from Manhattan to Brooklyn to New Jersey. 

Here are some of the going rental prices. 

So already, there’s slippage in renewals as prices in the Manhattan apartment rental market rocketed to a new high in March. 

A recent report from appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate showed tenants paid an average rent price of $3,644 on new leases signed in March. Rents have soared 23% from a year earlier and are up $14 from the previous record high recorded in February. 

The threat of a renter strike is soaring as the cost of living in the metro area is out of control.