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Time will tell. Until people stop moving out of Manhattan and fleeing to the suburbs. Landlords are desperate, especially in Manhattan. People are even snagging apartments that don't meet the 40x the rent rule. It may take 2, 3 or more years for the market to rebound. This is all information that is readily available if the people yelling and screaming bothered to Google or read. Landlords in the South Bronx don't need to slash prices, or if they do not by much since there are so many Section 8 people looking for places. If they can't find anyone for market rent, they'll rent to them. I know at least one landlord that is doing this. They have three buildings in the Bronx, and just about all of the apartments are rented to people on programs at $1600 or more.
Last edited by pierrepont7731; 10-13-2020 at 11:59 AM..
Time will tell. Until people stop moving out of Manhattan and fleeing to the suburbs. Landlords are desperate, especially in Manhattan... Landlords in the South Bronx don't need to slash prices, or if they do not by much since there are so many Section 8 people looking for places. If they can't find anyone for market rent, they'll rent to them. I know at least one landlord that is doing this. They have three buildings in the Bronx, and just about all of the apartments are rented to people on programs at $1600 or more.
Time will tell. Until people stop moving out of Manhattan and fleeing to the suburbs. Landlords are desperate, especially in Manhattan. People are even snagging apartments that don't meet the 40x the rent rule. It may take 2, 3 or more years for the market to rebound. This is all information that is readily available if the people yelling and screaming bothered to Google or read. Landlords in the South Bronx don't need to slash prices, or if they do not by much since there are so many Section 8 people looking for places. If they can't find anyone for market rent, they'll rent to them. I know at least one landlord that is doing this. They have three buildings in the Bronx, and just about all of the apartments are rented to people on programs at $1600 or more.
There is also a number of landlords who can afford to keep properties empty in the Bronx, and not rent to anyone. The cost of upkeep of empty rental units is low enough that it does not represent a financial hardship in many cases, and rental losses can be nicely applied to reduction of income taxes this year, as well as carried over into the future year(s).
As for the South Bronx, one landlord does not make up the market.
The NYTimes doesn't know its head from its @ss, but even they say that renters are getting deals, so they got part of it right. You don't have to agree. A quick Google search shows what I said before. Keep living in denial if you wish. All of the realtors I know and landlords they interact with (far more than one) are doing the same thing. Giving deals to people in Manhattan or renting to Section 8 tenants in the Bronx when they can't get market rate tenants.
We have millions unemployed here, even with people returning, so if you think the market is going to rebound in the snap of a finger, you are delusional.
There is also a number of landlords who can afford to keep properties empty in the Bronx, and not rent to anyone. The cost of upkeep of empty rental units is low enough that it does not represent a financial hardship in many cases, and rental losses can be nicely applied to reduction of income taxes this year, as well as carried over into the future year(s).
If they are landlords with multiple properties and deep pockets, yes they can afford to keep properties empty longer, but smaller landlords don't have that luxury. Not only do you have empty apartments, but you also have all of the deadbeats who are not paying rent. One tenant was served a 14 day notice the other day. The owe over $10,000 in rent arrears, and that's just one person.
I used to work with all of the large management companies in the City. I know what I'm talking about.
Pandemic or not, I would pick the Upper West Side over the South Bronx any day. The prices there are absurd, and the apartments are not that big either. With all of the quality of life issues there, there is no reason to pay such high rents there if you can find better elsewhere.
You're absolutely right that the UWS is a nicer neighborhood by far than any South Bronx neighborhood, but I think there is the question of what actual effective monthly rent and price per square foot is, and it's quite possible that these new-fangled luxury housing complexes in the South Bronx are offering pretty large concessions even if they want to keep the official listings numbers up for various reasons including things as wild as keeping the potential list value up to be able to project higher revenue numbers to secure more financial backing or other oddities like that. I wouldn't be surprised if the net effective monthly rent when someone actually signs up for one of these Mott Haven apartments is substantially less than the list price and much lower than that for an older building for equivalent square footage for a place on the UWS. On top of that, there could be an assorted grab-bag of other things like new appliances, in-unit or in-building laundry, dedicated parking space, in-building storage, doorman, etc.
Last edited by OyCrumbler; 10-13-2020 at 01:22 PM..
You're absolutely right that the UWS is a nicer neighborhood by far than any South Bronx neighborhood, but I think there is the question of what actual effective monthly rent and price per square foot is, and it's quite possible that these new-fangled luxury housing complexes in the South Bronx are offering pretty large concessions even if they want to keep the official listings numbers up for various reasons including things as wild as keeping the potential list value up to be able to project higher revenue numbers to secure more financial backing or other oddities like that. I wouldn't be surprised if the net effective monthly rent when someone actually signs up for one of these Mott Haven apartments is substantially less than the list price and much lower than that for an older building for equivalent square footage for a place on the UWS.
That may be, but my comment was what you could get with say $1700, and what rents are going for in the South Bronx and on the Upper West Side. The point still remains that a quick search online shows that you can get an apartment (a one bedroom) on the Upper West Side, just as you could in the South Bronx for the same price, something that previously was not doable, so prices are comparable, even if the amenities may not be. The only difference I have seen to be honest is that some apartments in the South Bronx have been renovated compared to the Upper West, but big deal. Looking at the amenities on the Upper West to the South Bronx, there's no comparison.
That may be, but my comment was what you could get with say $1700, and what rents are going for in the South Bronx and on the Upper West Side. The point still remains that a quick search online shows that you can get an apartment (a one bedroom) on the Upper West Side, just as you could in the South Bronx for the same price, something that previously was not doable, so prices are comparable, even if the amenities may not be. The only difference I have seen to be honest is that some apartments in the South Bronx have been renovated compared to the Upper West, but big deal. Looking at the amenities on the Upper West to the South Bronx, there's no comparison.
Yea, I agree with you on the list price, but what I'm seeing these days is that when you actually go in and start asking, it appears that it's a lot more than just a handful of places that have a high list price but a much lower effective rent usually in the form of a couple to a few months where you essentially don't pay rent such as getting effectively a 14 or 15 months lease, but paying for that one year's worth of the sticker price. There's articles on this, but I also actually know people who over the past few months have moved because they were seeing such deals. So while the sticker price might be $1700 a month on the listing, your net effective rent is in reality much lower for the place that's offering those additional months essentially without charge (and really, that just means your monthly rent is lower) versus a place that isn't. Admittedly, those were for people who were looking in Brooklyn as that's where my social circle is, but I'd imagine there'd be similar or even more severe for Mott Haven.
The interesting bit of that is what the practical reasons for the landlord to have the rent effectively lowered in that way rather than actually just lower the list price, and there's an interesting wormhole you can go down for why that is.
I just looked up what Parkchester rental office is doing in the time of Covid, and they are offering two months of free rent on new 2-year leases. Only on 2-year leases. Rents start at $1,600 (I think that is actually a little more than last year), the minimum annual income requirement for all leases remains at $60k.
It's not my method. This is what other people are doing. That's the reality. People move to where they can get cheap rent. If they're already paying market rate and can afford to pay a little more, they are taking the jump. You don't have to agree with it. That is happening NOW. As I said, I know a number of realtors that are getting people from Upper Manhattan and elsewhere that are moving to the Upper West Side because of the cheaper rents.
Me personally, I don't like moving often and just pay the increase until I'm ready to buy, but I'm not like everybody else.
Since you put it like that, you gave me a different perspective. If they are already paying market rate rent at a higher rate then yes moving to UWS for the same price or lower is a steal. If they can keep up with the rent increases after COVID, let them eat cake.
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Landlords in the South Bronx don't need to slash prices, or if they do not by much since there are so many Section 8 people looking for places. If they can't find anyone for market rent, they'll rent to them. I know at least one landlord that is doing this. They have three buildings in the Bronx, and just about all of the apartments are rented to people on programs at $1600 or more.
