After one little lull in 2021at the end of the Covid-19 pandemic which had brought the megalopolis to its knees and caused tens of thousands of families to flee, rental prices have jumped over one year by 20.4% in the second quarter this year, according to real estate site StreetEasy.
The owners (sometimes investment funds hidden behind real estate agents and other “brokers”) demand a annual salary representing 40 times the monthly rentno debt, almost perfect bank statements and tax forms.
Paula Sevilla earns $75,000 a year, slightly above the median salary in New York. But not enough to rent alone.
Tenants also sometimes have to pay commission to agents representing one month’s rent, or even 15% of the annual cost.
You have to add a inflationary economic contextthe poor build quality buildings in terms of thermal and sound insulation, particularly in Brooklyn and Queens, and a chronic shortage of new housing in a megalopolis of 8.5 million souls. There were 340,000 missing in 2019 for the entire New York agglomeration according to the Washington Up For Growth research center. There are “too many customers and not enough apartments”simply summarizes Miguel Urbina, a real estate agent.
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