The Covid-19 pandemic has dealt a severe blow to the urban economy and, therefore, to the real estate industry.
Well, there are records that indicate that there are now more apartments available.
Some residents in El Barrio, East Harlem, attribute it to the lack of employment caused by the health crisis: “Yes, everyone is leaving. Why? Because there is no rent to pay.”
According to the internet portal streeteasy.com, in Manhattan alone – this year – there are a little more than 72,000 apartments available.
That’s 30,000 more apartments than last year, an increase of almost 70%.
Brooklyn has similar numbers and in Queens it reaches 16,000 more apartments than previous years.
According to some residents, this is due to the high rent prices: “Quite a lot have left. They go to Boston which is cheaper; Pennsylvania is cheaper than here in New York”.
But for Henry Calderón, owner of the real estate agency, Donrell Realty Corp. in East Harlem, the increase in crime in the city has also been a factor in the exodus.
“And who stays? The one who cannot move. We who are low-income are the ones who cannot move. Here he can move is the one who earns more money. He has more options,” explains Calderón.
In addition to the increase in the inventory of apartments, Street Easy ensures that they are also cheaper than before. The price has fallen due to low demand.
A discount in the rental price that Street Easy has not seen is almost 10 years old.
- In Manhattan, the median rental price fell below $ 3,000 for the third quarter of 2020.
- In Inwood, rent was down 6.25% or $ 1,925.
- In Sunset Park, Brooklyn, the price drop for an apartment was about $ 2,000 or 4.8%.
- In Flushing, Queens, rent depreciated about $ 2,000, or 5.3%.
And according to Henry Calderón: “They have started to go down because they were so high. Here in El Barrio the rent has not yet started to go down so much because there are still people looking.”
The real estate agent believes that if the economic situation does not improve and the cases of coronavirus continue to rise, the rental price will continue to fall.
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