Apartment buildings on the Upper East Side neighborhood of New York.
Victor J. Blue | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Manhattan rents hit their highest level ever for a December as the supply of apartments plummeted and landlords started demanding double-digit increases.
The average apartment rent in Manhattan hit $4,440 in December, while the more widely watched net effective median rent (median rent including all discounts) hit $3,392 — the highest level for December on record — according to a report from Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel. The net effective median rent was up 21% over last year.
The surge marks a dramatic turnaround from a year ago, when there were more than 25,000 empty apartments for rent in Manhattan and even the most bullish brokers predicted a years-long recovery. Now, rents are often above pre-pandemic levels and renters are facing sticker shock on their rent…
