New rental leases in Manhattan fall 62 percent in May: report

Manhattan saw a sharp decrease in May in the number of new leases issued, dropping 62 percent amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a CNBC report.

The number comes from a new report from real estate companies Miller Samuel and Douglas Elliman, according to the network.

Per the report, last month was the worst May in the borough for new rental leases in a decade. The number of available apartments in Manhattan also shot up 34 percent. 

The first week of June didn’t buck the trend, with only 377 new leases being signed in the city, a 67 percent decline from a year ago.

“The supply of available rental units continues to accumulate,” UrbanDigs reportedly said in a different report, adding that “renters will have the upper hand in negotiability when the market finally reopens.”

The average rental price for the top 10 percent of rentals in the city also reportedly fell by 20 percent in May and the number of new leases in Manhattan that included rental concessions — a month of free rent, for example — rose from 34 percent to 42 percent.