Rents near NYC subway stops skyrocket, even as ridership is still down
A new report from RentHop finds asking rents near 90 percent of the city's subway stations rose, even though subway ridership is not back to prepandemic levels.
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New York City subway ridership has not completely bounced back to where it was before the pandemic, but rents near subway stations have skyrocketed.
It’s an indication that New Yorkers still rely heavily on the subway system, according to a new report from RentHop that looked at one-bedroom median net effective rents near major subway stops year-over year for the period of January 1st through March 31st. The report found that 438 stops saw an increase in median one-bedroom rent. That's over 90 percent of MTA stops in NYC.
Still, while rents have rebounded, but ridership has not, at least not all the way back. During the pandemic, over 90 percent of NYC’s subway riders disappeared. Now trains are fuller and subway ridership hit the highest single-day total on March 12th since the pandemic. According to the MTA tracker, day-to-day weekday ridership has risen to nearly 60 percent of pre-pandemic levels, and over 65 percent on weekends.
Significantly, rising rents are not just a Manhattan phenomenon—they are increasing all over the city: New development plays a role in the outer boroughs, driving up the asking rent around at major subway stops in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx.
Other key findings from the report include:
- In Brooklyn, one-bedroom median rent rose 21.7 percent at Bergen St. (2-3-4, $3,225) and 30.5 percent at Atlantic Av-Barclay Center (2-3-4-5, $3,775), partially due to two major new developments, 662 Pacific Street and 18 Sixth Avenue in Prospect Heights.
- In Queens, new buildings like 29-17 40th Avenue and Sven at 29-59 Northern Boulevard drove up prices by 29.6 percent at 36th St (E-M-R, $2,658) and 28.6 percent at Queensboro Plaza (7-7 Express-N-W, $3,390)
- In the Bronx, the median price for one-bedroom apartments around Cypress Ave (6) rose 19.4 percent to $2,269 as the Arches + NYC, a 190-unit new rental building, launched leasing.
The steepest rent hikes were in Manhattan:
- 72 St (1-2-3) – $3,495, +34.4 percent
- 103 St (1) – $3,350, +34.3 percent
- Grand Central – 42 St (S) – $4,141, +33.9 percent
- 96th St (A-B-C) – $3,700, +33.9 percent
- High St (A-C) – $3,750, +33.9 percent
Rents dropped at these stops:
- Bedford Park (4) – $1,700, -2.9 percent
- Jackson Ave (2-5) – $1,832, -2.3 percent
- Kingsbridge Rd (B-D) – $1,663, -2.2 percent
- Elmhurst Ave (E-M-R) – $1,763, -2.1 percent
- Zerega Ave (6-6 Express) – $1,655, -1.2 percent
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