If you live in Manhattan and didn't write an April rent check for $3,429, consider yourself below average, because that's what the mean rent was after a 3% year-over-year increase from 2011. That's a record high for Manhattan rents according to the latest rental market report released by CitiHabitats. Studio rentals were also up 3% year over year, to $2,025 a month, while 1BRs ($2,785), 2BRs ($3,891), and 3BRs ($5,186) all spiked 5% from 2011. Vacancy shrank a bit from March, but rose from .94% to 1.16% between April 2011 and 2012. Chelsea topped the list as the priciest rental neighborhood, where studios averaged $2,516 and 3BRs scraped the underside of the $6K barrier, at $5,978 a month. The best, if not easiest, way to save money if you want to live in Manhattan: take the stairs. CitiHabitats says that the average cost of a walk-up apartment is 42% less than a similar apartment in a new construction doorman building.
· Prior rental market reports [CitiHabitats]
· Market Reports coverage [Curbed]
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