Manhattan rents have reached another record high, with the average apartment now costing $6,655 per month, according to new figures from Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group and as first reported by the New York Post.
The latest numbers represent a 10 percent increase from the same period last year and come as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani pushes policies aimed at limiting rent increases for roughly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments across the city.
The median Manhattan rent has climbed to $5,295, a 6 percent year-over-year increase. The increases extend across nearly every apartment category: studios now average $4,088, up 8 percent; one-bedroom units average $5,486, up 7 percent; two-bedroom apartments have reached $8,054, a 13 percent increase; and three-bedroom units average $12,228, up 12 percent.
At the same time, Manhattan’s rental inventory remains extremely constrained. The vacancy rate fell from 1.57 percent last year to 1.49 percent, according to the data.
The shortage is particularly notable in the rent-stabilized market. Landlord reports cited by the New York Post indicate that approximately 57,000 regulated apartments were sitting vacant in 2025. Those empty units represented roughly 5.6 percent of the city’s rent-stabilized housing stock, compared with about 3.7 percent a decade earlier.
Gary Malin, CEO of The Corcoran Group, attributed the increasingly expensive rental market to policies enacted by both New York City and state governments.
“Misguided New York City and State legislation, like ‘good cause’ eviction, the FARE act, and the 2019 rent laws, have in large part created this perfect storm for sky-high rents,” Malin said.
He argued that regulations have constrained the construction and availability of rental housing while demand has continued to rise, pushing available apartments to record prices.
“These laws have curtailed the supply of rental housing,” Malin said. “This has caused demand to build up to a boiling point and pricing for available apartments to reach all-time highs.”
Malin also warned that Mamdani’s rent freeze could shift additional costs onto tenants who live outside the regulated market. While landlords will remain responsible for rising operating expenses, he argued that those costs could ultimately be reflected in higher rents elsewhere.
“One thing is for certain, landlords’ costs will still go up regardless of the new rent freeze,” Malin said. “While the freeze may be good news for rent stabilized tenants, the bad news for market rate renters is that these increased expenses will likely be passed on to them.”
The record rents come as Mamdani also pursues other measures aimed at increasing taxes and government spending, including a proposed tax on high-value second homes, known as a pied-à-terre tax. Critics of the mayor’s agenda have argued that higher taxes and expanded social spending could discourage wealthy residents from remaining in New York and further pressure the city’s tax base.
Mamdani’s rent policy applies to approximately 1 million rent-stabilized apartments throughout New York City. Nearly half of those units are occupied by foreign nationals.
The combination of rising market rents, limited vacancies and growing pressure on the city’s regulated housing system has left New York renters facing increasingly expensive options even as City Hall moves to expand rent controls.
