According to December 2025, it was the fifteenth time that the average rent in Manhattan showed a large annual gain Elliman Report for the rental markets of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. The average rent was slightly lower (0.6 percent) compared to November – not enough to make apartment hunters feel like they’ve found a bargain.
Despite all the disruptions caused by the winter holidays, including holidays and travel, December no longer appears to be a slow month for the Manhattan rental market, as Brick noted here, here and here.
Supply fell for the sixth time from a year ago, falling 16.2 percent, while the number of new leases fell slightly year-over-year, down 1.5 percent, the Elliman Report shows.
Bidding wars accounted for about one in five new leases in Manhattan in December.
Brooklyn listings are down 17 percent
All metrics for tracking Brooklyn rents (such as average, median, net effective, per square foot) showed “robust” year-over-year growth last month. The average rent increased 10.2 percent to $3,850 compared to December 2024.
Brooklyn listings and lease signings continued to decline year-over-year. Inventory fell 17.3 percent and new leases fell 18.9 percent compared to December 2024.
More than three in ten rental contracts are rented above the asking rent, according to the report.
Queens median rent increase 10 percent
In the Northwest Queens region covered by the Elliman Report, average rent continued to make big jumps annually, as did several other ways of measuring rent. In December, the average rent rose 10.2 percent to $3,850.
Rentals in Queens fell 7.3 percent annually in December, while listings rose 4.5 percent year over year. More than two in ten new rental contracts were rented above the asking rent.
A ‘turbulent year’ for tenants
The Corcoran Group also brought his Manhattan and rent reports in Brooklyn for December.
It was a “turbulent year” for renters, the Manhattan report said, due to record rents, rising vacancies and limited supply.
Gary Malin, COO at Corcoran, commented on the differences between the two rental markets.
Rents in Manhattan remain “historically high” while supply continued to decline, Malin said. Demand for gated buildings, a benchmark for the top half of the market, saw the highest activity in five years in December.
In Brooklyn, rental activity was driven by demand for smaller, value-oriented units, he said.
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