…The number of new rentals in Manhattan dropped 7.7 percent to 4,605, according to a report released Thursday by Douglas Elliman, which found the average rental price rose 1.7 percent to $3,822 a month.
It was the third straight month where the number of new rentals declined from the year before, suggesting more tenants are renewing their leases, said Jonathan Miller, a real estate appraiser who wrote the Elliman report.
It may be easier for landlords to keep their current tenants so they don’t have to risk an empty apartment to renovate, and it may make more sense for tenants to pony up for increases rather than spend even more on moving expenses, he said.
The situation doesn’t help the vacancy rate, which fell from 2.23 percent last year to 1.94 percent, according to the Elliman report.
“It’s creating somewhat of a log jam,” Miller said…
