New York, New York, is indeed a wonderful town. But The Bronx isn't the only thing that's up.

The Big Apple's infamously high rents plummeted during the heart of the Pandemic. At the crisis' height, rents throughout the city dropped nearly a third from the previous (normal) year. But as the nation slowly emerges from the worst, vaccine-less parts of the pandemic (thankfully quicker in N.Y.C. than much of the rest of the country), Rent prices in Manhattan have skyrocketed. In fact, N.Y.C. is in the top 10 of year-to-year rent increases among the hundred most-populated cities despite its already excessive rents.

As of August 2021, New York City average Rent Prices have crawled back to pre-pandemic levels, and then some. One-bedroom prices have fully recovered, and those in two-bedrooms are seeing rates well-exceeding 2019-2020 degrees. Despite a still-active pandemic, rents have decided the crisis has passed. What do we see when we break down rents over the course of the pandemic year-to-year and month-to-month?

New York City average rents plummet, then soar

Time travel back to August of 2020. America was five months into the pandemic. The Apple Fire roared through California and high winds flattened parts of Iowa. Protests against police brutality and the U.S. postal service were raging. Joe Biden picked Kamala Harris to run with him. And the presidential election entered the home stretch.

But on the pandemic front, winter was coming. The nation approached the first pandemic autumn with warnings of a winter wave. And with no vaccine yet on the horizon, no one knew what was next. Thankfully, the epicenter had moved away from New York City. But the city had changed, for an uncertain future if not forever.

Yearly one-bedroom rent trends mirrored pandemic trends

Thousands of Manhattanites had moved out to the suburbs or other cities to escape the pandemic. Vacancies were high and rents had plummeted. August 2020 saw some of the biggest year-to-year drops of any month of the crisis. Between August 2019 — in the before times — and 12 months later, rents for average one-bedroom apartments had fallen 33 percent.

August 2020 was followed by 10 straight months of double-digit drops in one-bedroom rent prices from a year prior. This reached its nadir in February 2021, a year into the pandemic, with New York City average rents for one-bedrooms down nearly a third from the year before. Lease prices for a one-bedroom bottomed out at $2,927.

But as vaccine distribution began in earnest, people saw the light of the possible end of the pandemic. By April 2021, rents were only down 15 percent from the previous year and just over 10 percent yearly two months later. Come last summer, the rent recovery was in full swing. One-bedroom rent prices in Manhattan were now up nearly 8 percent year-to-year.

Then, in August, the most recent data month, the economy showed a significant gain. As restaurants opened and concerts returned, so did typical New York rents, which hit the roof. Between August 2020 and August 2021, one-bedroom rent prices rose over 36 percent, wiping out all previous losses. By comparison, August year-to-year increases nationally were just under 9 percent.

Two-bedroom yearly rent changes saw a flatter curve

While one-bedroom rents followed a predictable pattern, prices for two-bedroom units carved a similar but unique path. As single-bedroom apartments dropped by a third from August 2019 to August 2020, doubles dropped as well, but just 11 percent. Two-bedroom year-to-year prices held mostly steady for another four months, even increasing over 8 percent in October. Yearly changes saw their biggest plunge in February, with a 12-month drop of almost 18 percent to $4,906 a month.

But recovery came to two-bedroom apartments sooner than singles. By April 2021, rent had recovered by more than 15 percent from the year before. And percent increases rose every month since. Now, just like its one-bedroom counterparts, two-bedroom rent prices peaked in August 2021 — the most recent data month — at 35.5 percent higher than 12 months prior and rising. That's a rate nearly five times higher than the rest of the nation, which saw August two-bedroom increases nationally of just 7.2 percent.

The minor differences in trajectories between one- and two-bedrooms can be traced to a few factors. Having a family or a roommate may have been a cause. That extra person (or half the rent) in the other room may have stabilized two-bedroom units differently than singles. It was harder to pick up and move elsewhere, protected more from income loss or made staying at home easier. As well, solo residents of two-bedroom apartments may have benefited from having a pre-existing work-at-home space.

How rent changed each month through the pandemic

While year-over-year rent prices show significant decreases, monthly changes mirrored the ups and downs of the pandemic itself. As you break out the month-by-month rents in New York City since the start of the pandemic, patterns emerge. Knowing the ebbs and flows of the pandemic over the last 18 months, rent pricing and pandemic severity patterns seem to correlate.

Let's look at average rents over the course of the pandemic, from March 2020 until now. Over those 18 months, the average for a one-bedroom apartment was $3,763 and $5,716 for two-bedrooms apartments.

Monthly New York City average rents hit their low point

As the pandemic hit in March 2020, one-bedrooms in New York were averaging $4,287 a month and a two-bedroom averaged $5,749. For the time being, those prices remained relatively stable the first few months as people assessed the situation. For four months, New York City's average rent didn't fluctuate month-to-month more than 5 percent or so.

But come mid-July, Manhattan was the national epicenter of the pandemic as hospitals filled up. New Yorkers realized they were in for the long haul as businesses closed, stay-at-home orders extended and eviction moratoriums solidified. People weren't going anywhere and rents plummeted. One-bedroom rents fell over 8 percent into July and then bottomed out by over 25 percent into August. Two-bedrooms saw a 10 percent drop from July to August. Both experienced 10 straight months of below-average rent prices.

Vaccines, hope and skyrocketing rents

The vaccine came and with it hope. Between March and April of 2021, it looked like America was well on its way to vaccinated normalcy. Rent prices again skyrocketed and both property owners and renters looked towards recovery.

One-bedrooms hit $4,510 a month in July, back to pre-pandemic levels. That's a 6.5 percent rise into March and a more than 18 percent increase into April. That same month, two-bedroom rents peaked at $7,284, the highest in at least two years. This figure was well over a thousand dollars more than the months prior to the start of the crisis. Rents grew 4 percent from February into March and nearly 28 percent from March to April. Rents continued to rise nearly every month since.

An uncertain future and a slight rent price reprieve

So, where are we today? Eighteen months in and the pandemic still isn't going anywhere. But it's certainly better in New York City than it is in most places. By the close of September, over 70 percent of New Yorkers have had at least one vaccine dose. Infection rates in the city are trending down, but so are rent prices. From July to August, one-bedrooms fell 5.4 percent and two-bedrooms dropped over 2 percent after declining nearly 5 percent the month prior.

This can be attributed to two factors. New York City's average rent and the Manhattan rental market may have overcorrected itself as it recovered and is coming down to normal levels. And second, thanks to continued spread and controversy, no one has a solid idea how close we are to coming to an end of the pandemic.

As is often the case, things are different in New York than in the rest of the country. As rents are correcting themselves in Manhattan, they're recovering faster than ever elsewhere. Nationwide, one-bedroom apartments are up monthly in August by nearly 3.5 percent and two-bedrooms over 7 percent. Both figures are the nationwide highest for any month-to-month since the start of the pandemic.

The New York rent recovery and you

If New York city remains or will become your full-time home, rents back to pre-pandemic levels while still in the middle of the pandemic will be a fact of life. If you're looking for where rents have stayed in your budget, see all the New York apartments for rent on Apartment Guide.

Rent prices are based on a rolling weighted average from Apartment Guide and Rent.com's multifamily rental property inventory as of August 2021 for each month going back to August 2019. Our team uses a weighted average formula that more accurately represents price availability for each unit type and reduces the influence of seasonality on rent prices in specific markets.The rent information included in this article is used for illustrative purposes only. The data contained herein do not constitute financial advice or a pricing guarantee for any apartment.

The post New York City Average Rent Prices are Skyrocketing appeared first on Apartment Living Tips - Apartment Tips from ApartmentGuide.com.