Think the dropping of a big fancy ball means the real estate industry can forget about a horrific 2009? Not so fast!
Tomorrow the brokerages will release their quarterly sales reports for the Manhattan market, but before that, The Real Estate Group New York is tying a bow on the bag of flaming dog poo that was the Manhattan rental market.
The brokerage's year-end rental report is out, and it plays like a greatest hits collection of landlord miseries. Rents? Down. Concessions and incentives? Up. The traditional summer surge? Largely nonexistent. The downward spiral of prices is cushioned by the report's failure to account for freebies offered to renters, but we doubt there's much room for positive spin for building owners.
As for 2010 predictions, TREGNY expects a "slow start," but sees potential. Or maybe they're just banking on the power of positive thinking?
It was a year of bargain hunting after so many moons of nonstop escalating rents. On the neighborhood level, TREGNY writes, "This desire for bargains drove deep discounts in traditionally less expensive neighborhoods such as Midtown, the East Village and the Lower East Side as landlords attempted to keep their properties competitive."
Here's the hood-by-hood numbers. Click the image to blow it up a bit for easier viewing.
