Vacancy levels are reaching record levels in Manhattan as a combination of factors unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic. In large part, the 10,000 units now being listed as available (an increase of 85 percent compared to June 2019) is due to the lockdown, since brokers couldn’t show them until June 22. But there also appears to be an exodus underway with fewer numbers of renters coming in to replace them. A report by Miller Samuel and Douglas Elliman put the official vacancy rate at 3.67 percent, but brokers warn that the situation in some buildings is far more serious. Owners are reacting quickly by dropping their prices and sweetening incentives packages. Most deals are now going through with six week rent-free period. Rents fell 8 percent in June, though they’re still twice the price of the national average.
