Incentives drive Manhattan rental volume up, Citi Habitats finds

October 05, 2009

There has been an uptick in Manhattan rental deals, according to Citi Habitats' third-quarter residential rental market report released today. The rental giant announced that it signed more than 3,800 rental transactions over the quarter, approximately 500 more transactions than in the same quarter a year ago. Citi Habitats President Gary Malin said that the increased activity was due in part to landlords aggressively pursuing tenants throughout the quarter with promotional packages. "We are seeing that landlords who are proactive in marketing their properties by offering incentives -- owner-paid commissions and/or free rent -- are successfully driving traffic to their properties," Malin said. That uptick in activity came as average rental prices came in 8 percent lower than they were a year ago and vacancy rates were "marginally" higher -- around 0.41 percent -- according to the report. TRD