The Federal Reserve says rent is flat in Manhattan

Manhattan

(Flickr / Justin Brown)

Rejoice!

According to Federal Reserve, rent is flat in Manhattan.

On Wednesday, the Fed published its latest Beige Book report, a collection of economic anecdotes from each of the Fed's 12 regions giving an overview of economic activity in the US.

And while overall the rental market in New York has been "somewhat stronger," Manhattan has seen prices remain steady, according to the Fed.

Now, if you're looking to rent in Queens, Brooklyn, or Northern New Jersey you're out of luck, as rents have been running about 3%-5% above where they were a year ago in those parts of the region.

According to the July report on New York real estate from real estate firm Douglas Elliman, average rent in Manhattan was up just 0.2% in July, though the firm said this mostly reflected weakness in the luxury space. That report also median rental prices in Brooklyn rose 4.1% in July and 14% (!) in Queens.

Overall, apartment vacancies appeared to be steadily declining according the Fed's report, but once again Manhattan's market has been a little softer with vacancies increasing during the last year.

But of course, if you're looking to score a cheap apartment in Manhattan, it doesn't seem likely that these conditions will really help you, as the Fed's report noted that, "there is a large supply of new (mainly luxury) rental apartments in the pipeline."

Here's the relevant passage from the Fed's report, which you can read in full here:

Residential rental markets have been steady to somewhat stronger. Apartment rents have been running 3-5 percent ahead of a year earlier in Brooklyn, Queens and northern New Jersey, while they have been essentially flat in Manhattan and across upstate New York. Whereas vacancy rates on rental apartments have been steady or declining across most of the District, Manhattan's vacancy rate, though still quite low, has climbed steadily over the past year. One contact notes that there is a large supply of new (mainly luxury) rental apartments in the pipeline. Multi-family residential construction remains brisk across most of the District.

Make no mistake, though, people are still renting like crazy in the US.

fredgraph (19)

(FRED)

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