apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I'm paying $1350 for a nice one-bedroom in Sunnyside/LIC area.

yeah, this is an incredibly general question. the same space in SI or outer queens could cost 10 times as much in manhattan, and prices vary widely between neighborhoods and even within the same neighborhood. your best bet is first to figure out generally where you want to live and then find something in your price range based on size and proximity to public trans.

me and my bro live in the co-op our mom bought back in the 80s, so we pay maintenance...i didn't answer the survey, but it's under $1k/month with yearly assessments and the maintenance goes up every year...i think it's overpriced for the area (midwood) and the state of the building (crappy), but being that we're new yorkers paying that little...i don't complain much!!!

yeah, not living in NYC, so i didn't reply to the survey, but being a renter in a city in general, i know the poll is a little too general. there is a big difference just based on size of the apartment/roommates. it is a lot different to say "I pay $1500" than to say "Our two-bedroom is $1500." Those are two VERY different places. not to mention the geography of it all...

I think this survey needs to be much more specific. How big is the apartment (studio, 1 bedroom, 2 etc..) and specifically where in NYC would be more helpful to this person.

Just so you know, I just read this morning that the vacancy rate in Manhattan is something like 3.6%, which is pretty remarkable considering that this rate was hovering under 1% over the past two years. Looks like the bloodletting on Wall Street is finally clearing the riff raff from the rental market.

I live in the far West Village and I know it can be tough to find a studio in the neighborhood for under $2000. One bedrooms are tough to find for under $3000. That being said, your willingness to live in an un-renovated apartment, on the sixth floor of a walkup, with windows either facing the airshaft or a busy street, many blocks from the nearest subway will lower your price in any hood.

How much a person pays in rent doesn't take into account how long they've been there and any rent control either.

Amelia would be better off doing some research on Rent.com and Craigslist.

OMFG....and I thought rent around here was high when they were asking $850 for a 3 bedroom condo. judas I'm glad I don't live in NYC. I just bought a condo and the mortgage alone is less than $1k and its 1100 sq ft.

me: studio - about 300-350sqft in the UES (76th and 2nd) for $1525

some of my friends:
1br in UES, 72nd and 1st - for $1450
1br in murray hill (forget exact location) for about $1200 (rent controlled)

Yes, Little Rock - We pay more for housing in the big cities - It's always been that way because of the higher demand for housing...
...but we also earn much more money and don't need cars - so it more than makes up the difference.

also try streeteasy.com. it is generally better for purchasing but does include rental information as well. because the site culls from several different brokerages, it can be helpful for a larger overview.

Rents are so out of control in NYC (oh, the nuances of supply and demand on an island) I ended up buying a place. 500K for a 600sf. studio. Fabulous area, litterally the apartment is falling apart though and hence it was a steal. I may not have a working stove yet, but I am paying about the same as my mates who are renting similar spaces and will have to move if rents go up again.

Amelia, I recomend looking at your personal budget first and then deciding what are your priorities (could you do a walk-up? Do you need to be near the subway?)

Where I live now (basically Gramercy), you can get a studio for around $2000, a one bedroom for $2500 or so. However, if you jump to the LES, you could get a decent studio for $1500 in a walk-up.

Before that I was on the Upper East Side a good jaunt away from a subway at that was $1800 for a one bedroom.

I was also in Brooklyn (Windsor Terrace) for a while and that was $1700 for a huge 2 bedroom (I was only renting one room, came to like $900 with utilaties).

Good luck with your search!

full floor railroad in east harlem, $1645/mo.

300sf (rent stabilized) studio in Little Italy, $1505/mo.

Doorman 1 bedroom in west chelsea 4500.

I live on the Bed-Stuy/ Clinton Hill border in Brooklyn and I pay about $1200 for a very small 2 bedroom.

My friends:
$1650 (300 sqft studio) 83rd and Lex
$2400 (huge 2 bedroom) Prospect Heights
$2400 (2 bedroom duplex) Williamsburg
$950 (tiny studio) Greenpoint

I've noticed prices in tony nabes are pretty crazy in Brooklyn!
If your looking for a deal I would try the outskirts of your favorite nabe. Generally, gentrified nabes like Clinton Hill and parts of P Heights can have crime problems but you can find nice deals.

I wouldn't expect paying less than $1800 for small studio on the main island. Greenpoint and Astoria are around that same price (though the places will get a bit bigger).



Good luck!

The other problem with this survey is that the price ranges repeat numbers. So, my husband and I pay $2000/month for a one bedroom in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. I checked off the $1500-$2000 choice, but I could have also checked off $2000-$3000. That skews the results quite a bit I would think.

You think housing is expensive in NYC - Have a look at these new European/Tokyo style apartments here in SF:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/24/BUTM12GQMI.DTL&type=realestate

Two years ago, I was paying $1150 for a one bedroom in Kew Gardens Hills in Queens, just east of Forest Hills. It was a garden apartment-style condo we rented from the owner. Square footage probably in the 800's.

I live in a 300-350 sq feet studio in East Village for $1800, E 4th and A. That's a steal considering my building is under construction. In 6 months, these units are estimated to be $2k a month.

Rent Stabilized stuido UWS, doorman, half a block from subway and Central Park, a couple of blocks from Museum of Natural History, 300 sq ft., WIC, $1550. In my building, newly renovated studios are being rented out for $2000-2100. One bedrooms are going for $3000.

Check out rent-o-meter -- you plug in monthly rent, location, bedrooms, and it does a comparative study of other places in the area, and spits out a result.

http://www.rentometer.com/

bepsf, those are also new, modern apartments. i'd take that over my apartment any day.

"OMFG....and I thought rent around here was high when they were asking $850 for a 3 bedroom condo. judas I'm glad I don't live in NYC. I just bought a condo and the mortgage alone is less than $1k and its 1100 sq ft."

Yeah... but you live in Little Rock!

In February, I moved from a 600 sqft. 1 BR in upper Washington Heights ($1137) to a 380 sqft studio in Chelsea ($1275 rent stabilized). No broker, just a good friend and the last honest landlord in NYC.

I live in a huge (1500 sq ft?) 3 bedroom in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, and pay $2300 a month. It's a doorman/elevator building in a great, safe neighborhood. My last place was also in Bay Ridge, less than half the size, 2 bedrooms and the rent was $1100

GHB - hahaha...seriously.

I will never again complain about rents in Chicago. We have it easy! I search Craigslist NYC when I'm bored just to see the outrageously-priced, but completely gorgeous apartments.

I'm in the East Village and I have a tiny basement studio that's about 350 sq, and I pay $1200. But I'm about to move to another apt in the building that's considerably larger probably like somewhere between double and triple the size for $1650. These prices are only because my landlord is a nice guy though and cares more about having quality people in the building than chasing down a dollar.

Depending on where you are going most often in new york, local new jersey (jersey city, union city, hoboken) can be reasonable.
I'm moving into Jersey city this week, to be a NYU grad student. my commute is much shorter (1/2 hour or so) than the comparably priced parts of brooklyn/queens. I"m paying 750 to have my own bedroom (15*12) and bathroom in part of a 3 br rental.

Boerum Hill, BK - $1229, about to go up to $1285 (prewar studio)

i live in the miami area now. before i left new york, i was living in the st. george area of staten island (which is the northernmost neighborhood in that borough) and paying $900 for a 1 bedroom in 2004.

my friends:
$1650/mo for 1 bedroom thats the size of a wide hallway on E13th Street & Avenue A
$1150/mo for a mid-sized 1 bedroom on 144th & St. Nick in Harlem
$1300/mo for a large 1 bedroom on 142nd between Broadway & Riverside Drive in a very noisy building
$3800/mo for a mid-sized 2 bedroom on 33rd near 2nd Ave in Kips Bay

East 20s, 630 sq ft, crappy walk up = $2250.

What does a doorman add to the equation?

We're on Sullivan St. near Washington Square Park in an old tenement building.

1 bedroom, separate kitchen, about 400 sq feet total, 2nd floor walk-up
= $1985/month

Have a studio, about 450 sf, two blocks south of Gramercy Park for $2199. Elevator, p/t doorman. But the small victory was paying no broker fee. NY Times print edition all the way.

Decide what you want: space or atmosphere. You can't have both unless you make tons of moolah.

I need space (three dogs), but if I was single, I'd live in a shoebox in a great neighborhood.

We rented a large 1br (it has a huge hall space and tons of closets everythere) in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn (11412) for about $1300/month. Great layouts! Managment is great, the house very well kept, AND you can move out any time, you won't be charged any fees. Everyone always asked us if that was a condo.

I didn't answer it either, because I'm in a co-op. The last time I paid rent was $740 in Hell's Kitchen for a 1-bedroom bedroom 10th and 11th Avenues back in 1998.

people in big cities don't necessarily make bigger salaries. there are probably more people here, per capita, living on the edge of the knife, than in every day America.

and what good is more money if you're still struggling to make ends meet?

$2300 for a 1br (700 sq ft) in a 1-year-old building in LIC

$925/mo.
2 bedroom / approx. 350 sq. ft.
lower east side (ludlow st. below delancey)
bathtub is in the kitchen.
was paying $875/mo. for the last 4 years.
never want to leave.

I'm paying $1600 in a converted 3br in Tribeca. If it was just as originally planned the total rent would be $4850 for 2br. Even though it is a convert, the two smaller br's are at least 12x10 and have lots of closet space.

$1240 for a studio on W.72nd between Columbus Ave. and the park. Found it 10 years ago through a friend of a friend.

We own our place now, but when we last rented, we had a 1BR railroad apartment on the 5th floor of a walkup in Chelsea (W. 20th bet 7th & 8th) for just under $1500/month. That same apartment is now almost $3000/month.

A decade ago, I bought an alcove studio condo. I chose to pay an after-tax cost of $1450/month to own, instead of the alternative--renting the same apartment for $1700/mo. Today a comparable monthly rent would be $2600. I got a deal.

$1450/mo for a 1 bdrm right off the JMZ in Bushwick, Brooklyn (no doorman, OBVS!). My boyfriend & I consider it a deal as we each pay just $725 a month. The apt itself is nice - super high ceilings & exposed brick - our neighbors are cool as well - but the neighborhood overall is not the greatest and LOUD and our block is more often than not covered in trash... we are definitely moving when our lease is up...

I pay $1750/mo for a tiny (less than 300 sq feet) apartment on 76th/3rd...but it was completely redone before I moved in and I have a nice private backyard.

I have friends paying:
- $1350/mo for a 350 sq foot studio at 107th/Columbus
- $1950/mo for a 1 br on 78th b/t Columbus and CPW
- $2450/mo for a doorman studio at 66th/3rd
- $3200/mo for a luxury 1 br doorman near Union Square

You couldn't pay me to live in Little Rock.

Chelsea -- 22nd between 7th & 8th. I'm in a one bedroom on the first floor and it's running $2600 for about 500 sqft. I'd prefer more light but what are ya gonna do?

Heres what me and some of my friends are paying in BK. Note the square footage are big guestimates. All found via CL:

2 BR about 800sf for $1300 Crown Heights around Franklin/Prospect Pl
1.5 BR about 775 sf for $1450 Prospect Heights around Dean/Vanderbilt
1 BR about 750 sf for $1300 Bed Stuy around Madison/Lewis
1 BR with patio for $1200 Bed Stuy/Stuy Heights around Stuyvesant/Fulton

We live in a supposed "steal" in the far WV. It's a dumpy 650 sq ft 2-br (barely -- we use the second bedroom for dining) walk-up for $2800 a month. However, the apartment above mine just rented for $3200 a month, and the one below, which is renovated, rents for $4200 a month.

Of course you could also rent an apartment in the Richard Meir buildings around the corner for $20000 a month.

I'm on the edge of Astoria, Queens, and I'm paying $1530/month for a 2-bedroom. Second bedroom is quite small, living/dining area is unexpectedly large compared to what I was used to seeing in Manhattan, but not huge. Water is included in the rent, electricity is not. Approximately two blocks from the subway.

Anchor---a 2 bedroom with only 320sf???

Doorman===add about 350 to 500 more per month.

It's only going to get worse!!! It's only a matter of time until we get like Japan.

Little Rock is a beautiful city!

$3000 for a beautifully renovated 1400-sq-ft 2-bed/2 bath brownstone duplex in West Harlem with the works--high ceilings, exposed brick, hardwood floors, dishwasher, washer/dryer, 2 blocks to the subway, blah blah blah. It's quite expensive for the area but that budget would have gotten us a tiny, character-free 1-Br everywhere else we looked. And we love the neighborhood.

$2150 for a beautiful (new brick walls and hardwood floors) and spacious (huge kitchen!) 3 bed in....yes, upper bed stuy. hey, i like my neighborhood! everyone's nice and the price is so worth it. my roomies and i pay less than $800/month! (plus utils)

$950 electric for a fairly large studio right off the Jefferson L. First floor and loud neigbors, but who cares!

3 bed 2 bath (2 terrace) for $1740 includes heat hot water

but it is in middle village queens (take the x-bus in-15 mins to midtown-subway to local bus home takes 45 mins)

can't wait to move

we do not need a 3 bed

moving in the spring to to a 1 bed in ues or midtown east
hopefully for 2200-2400 a month

if anyone knows a good broker

i will pay more if i have to (doorman is not important)

I'm paying $1495 per month for a 300sf studio at 82nd and York (UES/Yorkville). Building has an elevator, but no laundry, and is far from the subway...
Considering that my rent is more than double the rent of the studio I had in Chicago last year ($720), the same size in a great neighborhood (Old Town)....well, the mind just boggles.

$640 for 240 sf in the E Village. Apt is an unrenovated tenement, building has maintenance issues. Lived there a long, long time and though I'd like more space I've been way priced out of this city unless I stay put. I know some people would jump at this place, but it's kind of hard to always be saying "this is a great deal" like a mantra when by any standard except extreme poverty, it's a hovel. And I always read angry comments about people in rent-stabilized apartments, like we're government-subsidized squatters who are pushing everyone else's rents up. In fact, the landlord/speculators who bought the building are sitting on (warehousing) probably 100 vacant rent-stabilized apartments in the neighborhood, taking a nice tax break to offset the $2,000-plus a month studios they've renovated. If I ever vacate (as I'm under heavy pressure to do), nobody will benefit except the landlord who is doing a gut-renovation to "luxury" flats.

$1200 550sf 1br (with office, high ceilings, non-working fireplace, well kept up) in Greenpoint. I got it about a year ago (with 1-month brokers fee) and feel like I got lucky. There are 1br's near me going for $1800. It's nuts.

Friends paying:
-$1850 2br in Bushwick
-$3400 2br in Williamsburg (amazing view, on the water, roof access, elevator)
-$1800 1br Williamsburg

$1,100 for a 1BR on the north shore of SI Close proximity to the ferry.

1,000$ for 550-6 sq foot 1 bdrm in Crown Heights.

Girlfriend pays 1000$ for 300-350 sq foot studio in Prospect Heights.

We own a co-op in Prospect Heights, but before that we paid $2300 for a brownstone railroad apartment in Park Slope that was in bad need of renovations. However, the location was great (Union btwn 6th & 7th Aves.

I love my apartment and I am never, ever leaving.
reading about other peoples rent rates further confirms that.

$1600 for a small but very well laid out 3 bedroom in inner Williamsburg. Marcy JMZ, Bedford L. tree lined street, rent stabilized.

the only drawback is the stairs. I'm on the 5th floor of a 6 story walkup, but I try to look on the bright side that instead of looking at a brick wall or other people's windows, my apartment looks out to open air and sky.

bitterrenter: I know a great broker. not a creep, but a regular dude who found himself in the real estate world and stuck with it because it paid his way into fancier guitars.
one months rent is his fee, no funny business.
he's also got loads of exclusives, mostly in lower manhattan and north brooklyn.

Jeremy 646 379 9306

$1250/mo, 1 BR but the rooms are huge, in Riverdale. Top floor. Elevator. and two blocks from the 20 minute subway ride to work.

$2400/mo, 2 br, in Brooklyn Heights. The bedrooms were large by NY standards and we had a private backyard.

I bought my co-op apartment in the Lower East Side. I was renting the apartment before I bought. In 2004 I was paying $900/month rent. Now, it'd go for $1800. I bought just in time! The LES is a great neighborhood but it's such a hot spot now, you'd best look somewhere with a lower profile.

Hmmm....no rent...mortgage runs $650, after tax yearly burden of approximately, $425 per month.... Grymes Hill, 400sqft studio, pool, doorman (well in the evening), 2 blocks to gorgeous park, pastoral view, 1/2 block to bus that is literally two/three minute ride to ferry. Yes it is Staten Island, and yes the downstairs neighbor is probably partially deaf, and for some that wont ever work, but for me, lil alabama boot scootin boogie me, it works like a friggin charm and allows me to easily commute to my job just across the bridge to Brooklyn and still have more than enough money to update/renovate/decorate to my heart's content. Thanks for asking.

My boyfriend and I live in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Top floor of a house (very small bedroom, living room, dining room, office, decent size kitchen, yard access and basement storage) - $950 a month.

The neighborhood is out there (south Brooklyn) and not particularly happening, but the trade off is an amazing amount of space.

DEAR KIMDOD ETC,
I own a co-op on Est 85th between first and second, nd rent it for $1300 a month, I have raised the rent once in 4 years..
So I guess I am the second last honest landlord.. It's a nice but small 300 sq foot apt, but doeas have a loft, 12 foot ceiling a brick wall and non-working fireplace. Sad to say I must raise my tenants rent $100 this Nov, as my own costs have gone up $200 per month based on co-op monthly fees. The only reason I offer such a low rent is.. no move out fees. Apt owned outright, $440 a month co-op fees and desire to help young people.. Funny since I am now unemployed after 18 years on Wall street Downsized, and my tenants make 3 x times more then my current income!! Well at least I sleep at night knowing I'm not a pig!!!!

$2,400/mo, 1 BR, 550 sq ft, elevator, UES

Washington Heights, 2BR, $1440

my husband and i live in jersey city and pay $1650 for a one bedroom plus tiny office. it's not cheap, but better than Manhattan.

p.s. it would be really great to have a "great brokers in new york" thread! i would love to hear others' experiences with brokers.