Three of the nation’s top five neighborhoods for apartment deliveries in the past decade have been commuter submarkets to Manhattan. Particularly, submarkets of Brooklyn, Jersey City and Queens dominated the top of RealPage’s recent list of biggest supply volumes since 2014, with Brooklyn adding 35,890 units, Jersey City adding 27,813 units and Queens adding 22,960 units.
New York City estimates that more than 880,000 residents in the metro commute into Manhattan from the other four boroughs and 540,000 commute from outside the city.
All told, New York delivered roughly 108,300 units between 2014 and 2024, a third of which were built in Brooklyn and 21% in Queens. RealPage said apartment rents in Brooklyn averaged about $4,710 monthly as of February, which represents a savings of roughly $470 compared to Manhattan’s most affordable submarket, the Financial District, where rents were closer to $5,100, according to RealPage. Prices in the Lower East Side were the most expensive in Manhattan at $6,100, the report said. Queens rents were a bit behind Brooklyn’s at $3,700, or a $1,500 savings over the most affordable Manhattan rents.
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“Brooklyn and Queens are across the East River, only about eight miles each from Manhattan,” said RealPage. “But if you’ve ever been stuck in New York City traffic, you know that drive can take about an hour. Most commuters take the train in, which can be about 45 minutes from each location.”
On the other side of the island, coming across the Hudson River from Jersey City, the commute time is often shorter, the report said. There, rents, as of February, were about in line with Queens rents at about $3,700 monthly, providing at least a $1,500 savings over Manhattan.
Another commuter submarket that is a little further out, Center City Philadelphia, also saw one of the nation’s biggest completion volumes in the past 10 years, with deliveries of nearly 17,400 units. There are not likely as many commuters to the Big Apple from Center City Philadelphia, as it’s about a two-hour drive. However, those who do choose to make the commute can save about $2,600 monthly on rents compared to the Financial District and about $2,600 monthly compared to the Lower East Side, said RealPage.
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Kristen Smithberg
Kristen Smithberg is a Colorado-based freelance writer who covers commercial real estate, insurance, benefits and retirement topics for BenefitsPRO and other industry publications.
