By News 4 New York Reporter Roseanne Colletti
Are there any apartment bargains in Manhattan? Sure, but try to find them — there’s the rub.
First vacancies are miniscule. CitiHabitats reports the overall vacancy rate for Manhattan for May was 1.15 percent. The West Village had the lowest rate at .65 percent. Murray Hill had the highest rate at 1.39%.
Also, recession or not, rental prices climbed from April to May. Blame that on new college grads and summer interns looking for new digs.
Now take a breath and take in the sticker shock.
The average monthly rental price for a studio was $1,937, a one bedroom $2, 611, and a two bedroom averaged $3,953.
Chelsea was the highest for studios at $2,410, Washington Heights the lowest at $1,004. It also had the least expensive one-bedrooms at $1,285, while SoHo/Tribeca had the highest at $3, 538.
While CitiHabitats’ figures are discouraging, the persistent may prevail and luck into a “find.”
To do that, put on your walking shoes and knock on every door in the neighborhood you want.
Sometimes, you can get ahead of the Web lists by asking “what’s coming up?” as opposed to “what’s available right now?”
Face time is also a factor; people get to know you and may do you the favor of giving you a heads up before everyone else shows up.
Good luck, you’ll need that too.
