Depressed Apartment Rents May Drive A 'Youth Renaissance' In New York

Bisnow's podcast, Make Yourself At Home, hears from members of the commercial real estate industry about how they are managing this new reality and gaining insight into their day-to-day approaches. You can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify and Amazon Music.

Courtesy of Jonathan Miller
Miller Samuel Ceo Jonathan Miller

In this episode, we’re hearing from appraisal firm Miller Samuel CEO Jonathan Miller — New York’s go-to man for data on residential sales and rents.

The city, which has been in the grip of a housing crisis for years now, is experiencing enormous rent drops since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. After hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers left and landlords grew desperate, average rents have fallen 14%, a relative improvement from last fall when the decrease was closer to 25%.

Miller says on the podcast that he expects the price reductions could drive a reshaping of the demographics of the city after years of extremely high prices.

“The city, I believe, is going to go through a youth renaissance where the demographics for the rental market are shifting younger. I’ve been saying for the last few years: The rental market went past through an affordability threshold," he said. "All of a sudden you have, not only this younger demographic like we’ve had in past cycles ... You are also going to have Class-A office space, there’s going to be greater affordability, and that will breathe new, creative life into city.”

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's New York Newsletters
Related Stories

With Occupancy Brimming, Investors Pile Into Bay Area Apartments

FBI Drops Investigation Into Financially Troubled StoryBuilt

Bally's Lines Up $560M Loan For Bronx Casino: The N.Y. Deal Sheet

GTIS Partners Rebrands As Brightshore Capital, Launches $250M Debt Platform

Data Center Spills 5,000 Gallons Of Fuel Into New Jersey River

Historic Brooklyn Hotel To Be Turned Into Ritz-Carlton-Branded Condos

Dublin BTR Had A €1B Summer

Sales Of Lower-End Apartments Surge In Philly As Landlords Face Financial Issues

Wu Proposes Tax Breaks To Jump-Start Stalled Housing Projects

Taconic Partners Sheds Another NYC Life Sciences Property

Developer Seeks Permit For Denver Energy Center Conversion Project

Airbnb Launches $250M Fund To Invest In Affordable Housing