Forget about Williamsburg, that is so passé.
The place to be along the L train is now Bushwick, where rental prices have skyrocketed, almost 23% or $454 dollars, for a two bedroom since December and 17.2% overall.
However, even with the price increase, digs can still be had for much cheaper than in neighboring Williamsburg or DUMBO, which still command the most expensive rents in Brooklyn, the latest report from marketing and brokerage firm, MNS report says.
The reason for the Brooklyn price rise?
Lack of inventory is a key driver, said Andrew Barrocas, CEO of MNS, which just released the Brooklyn and Manhattan Rental Market Reports.
“Although rental vacancies in Brooklyn are low, the market traditionally sees pricing decline, or stay flat during the winter season,” he said.
According to the MNS reports, the average price for a studio in Bushwick is now $1,825 per month. The same space will cost $2,650 in DUMBO, $2,726 in Williamsburg and $2,500 in Greenpoint.
But those prices still do not approach the $4,900 average price per month a studio will cost you across the river in Tribeca, the highest for a studio in the entire city.
Overall, Tribeca had the highest prices on average for non-doorman apartments in the entire city, with SoHo fetching the highest prices for two bedroom rentals in a doorman building, averaging $8,717 rent per month.
The cheapest rents are to be found in Lefferts Gardens near Prospect Park, which still average around $1,200 per month, according to the report.
The lowest priced studios in Manhattan are to be found uptown in Harlem, where a studio can still be found for under $1,600.
The Upper West Side saw the sharpest price decreases in Manhattan, down 10.3% for a non-doorman, two-bedroom apartment.
SoHo went in the opposite direction with two-bedroom apartments, without a doorman, increasing by 6.2% or $330.
Ironically, despite the price increase, particularly in northern Brooklyn neighborhoods, overall rents decreased across the entire borough by 1.96%, with studios ironically seeing the greatest decrease in prices by 3.20%.
The MNS report indicated that fluctuation in inventory levels has contributed to price volatility in Kings County.
Manhattan saw a very slight increase, 0.92%, which reversed months of negative price movement.
Vacancy rates are still at all-time lows in Manhattan and the report indicated that demand should be expected to intensify as we approach the second quarter.
“We have seen the end of the Manhattan rent price drop,” said Barrocas. “Manhattan rental prices in March will be higher than they were in February — we also predict April prices to be stronger than March. Rental prices in Manhattan will increase through spring and will continue to grow for the next two years.”
