Will the Market With the Highest Rent Please Stand Up
Empty data sets put NYC, others behind the Hudson River market.
Apartment industry operators and data analysts were thrown for a bit of a loop in July when a new report found that Jersey City, N.J., had among the highest rents in the country.
The Rent report said residents on average there (a market just across the Hudson River from New York City), were paying $5,500 per month in rent in June. Boston and Palo Alto, Calif., were next on that list.
Fingers quickly pointed to New York City’s omission from the report. Rent provided this explanation, which was detailed in reports sent to media.
“New York was one of the cities excluded in this month’s report due to insufficient inventory, which is outlined in our methodology. Our data focuses on advertiser multifamily properties which we can be more confident in its pricing than properties on our site from external listing feeds.
“All cities that fall below a certain availability threshold at either the one- or two-bedroom level are removed from this report due to a sample size that’s too small to show a true market average.”
Jersey City Has Housing Choices for Every Budget
Count Wendy S. Paul, MPA, Executive Director, Jersey City Apartment Owners Association, among those disillusioned by having her market earn that status.
“The Jersey City multifamily community has a range of apartment options for everyone,” Paul said. “From micro units to the ultra-luxury buildings referenced in the report, this is why Jersey City is such an attractive place to live for so many.”
She said that the report’s data is further skewed by not including the multiple options of the apartment owner community from two-family homes to other market-rate offerings.
“While massive inflation on everything from building materials, energy, and wages has forced housing costs up, the Jersey City multifamily community has been innovative, finding ways to increase housing supply while meeting a wide spectrum of rents,” Paul said.
New York City and West Palm Beach Rated Highest
So, in which markets and cities are rents highest? Again, it depends how you slice it.
RealPage as of June has New York City as the top metro at $4,213; its top submarket is Midtown East in NY ($5,311); and the top ZIP code (10075) in New York’s Upper East Side is at $11,403.
Yardi’s top city is Palm Beach, Fla., at $7,491.83, followed by New York City (combined boroughs) at $4,959.