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March 30, 2009

It's Good To Be A Renter Right Now

Psssst. Have you heard? Rents are dropping. Take the case of the Pettyjohn sisters, who, out of desperation, rented a crappy, inconvenient two-bedroom in Bushwick last year for $1,700. Just recently, they were able to upgrade to a larger, more attractive place two stops closer to Manhattan on the L train for the same price. In Sunday's Real Estate section, The Times chronicles this story and others like it while pointing out that the number landlords now willing to pay a broker to rent their apartments has gone up almost four-fold in the last year. Where will it stop? Anybody's guess, though the chief economist for Halstead and Brown Harris Stevens says it's unlikely the price trend will reverse until the city stops losing jobs.
Why Are These Renters Smiling? [NY Times]
Photo by mesmart

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Comments

So where have all the "bitter renters" callers gone now?

Posted by: Prodigal_Son at March 30, 2009 9:02 AM

PS: Not all renters are "bitter."

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at March 30, 2009 9:06 AM

DIBS-

What I'm saying is there was a time when people here on Brownstoner would call -any- renter who questioned high RE prices to be a "bitter renter". Now it looks like the renters are getting a break. Thats all.

Me, I live mortgage and rent free, in a run down old dump of a building. But the savings are great.

Posted by: Prodigal_Son at March 30, 2009 9:08 AM

Not bitter here. Poor, but not bitter ;)

Posted by: the chicken at March 30, 2009 9:08 AM

dave, didn't you promise not to post until there were at least 10 or more comments?

Posted by: randolph at March 30, 2009 9:10 AM

chicken...I don't believe that you're poor either. Headed back over to The City this week to get bashed by the G20 anarchists??

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at March 30, 2009 9:11 AM

I promised no such thing, randolph.

However, your comment is just the thing that Mr. B wants to avoid in an otherwise on-topic discussion. I felt I had to point that out today since you obviously were not at all influenced by friday's discussion.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at March 30, 2009 9:13 AM

that was me randolph. in regards to rents being lower i guess it only benefits those who plan to move. i just dont have the desire to move again. too stressful. i dont think any savings id get by moving would be worth it right now.

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at March 30, 2009 9:17 AM

haha - it was a take on a second (unspoken) perception that renters are too poor to own. I'm not at the "three bowls of ramen a day" but far from rich.

Sadly I will miss the festivities but amused to see that the G20 is meeting a few minutes walk from my house in London.

Posted by: the chicken at March 30, 2009 9:22 AM

The OP (owner pays) fee set up, the free months rent, all those incentives popped up in 2001, where huge in 2002, and gone by 2003, when rents spiked.

If this tracks in a similar way, by this time next year they should be leveling off. Not saying rents will spike, but this time next year I think there will be some normalcy. No incentives or reductions but well priced apartments moving at an average rate.

Posted by: christopher at March 30, 2009 9:23 AM

My rent is quite low... relatively speaking. And it all depends on a total lack of interest on the part of my landlord. If he even gets a twinge of interest in the market or thinks about selling (even in this market), I'm screwed. I got lucky, but it's a tenuous situation.

Since I work in Brooklyn (Flatbush), the usual alternatives become terrible since transport is generally directed towards Manhattan.

Posted by: tybur6 at March 30, 2009 9:25 AM

On the subject of renting, which failing condo projects have rentals? It'd be interesting to see. I bet most developers don't publicize that info.

Posted by: Prodigal_Son at March 30, 2009 9:27 AM

i think landlords, specifically the bigger building corporate landlords need to seriously loosen up on their credit checks. what's the point of all these month free deals and no broker fees if half the people who apply for these apartments get rejected to begin with.

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at March 30, 2009 9:29 AM

rob:

"what's the point of all these month free deals and no broker fees if half the people who apply for these apartments get rejected to begin with."

Whats your data source that "1/2" the people get rejected based on credit?

Posted by: Prodigal_Son at March 30, 2009 9:30 AM

Here I am I am still a bitter renter. I am lookking for a cheaper apartment and I still can't find one. I keep calling the "Cartel" of real estate agents in Carroll Gardens and I still hear 2400 this and 2400.00 dollars a month there. That is the least of my anger/ Why don't homeowners just put a for rent sign in the window with a contact number. I sure don't want to pay some parasite of a real estate broker for sitting on his fanny. I know I am still bitter the prices are not going down fast enough at least I have "House of Cards" to watch over and over again.

Posted by: hannible at March 30, 2009 9:33 AM

As a renter I can tell that The Taaffe Lofts stay the same.
Must be the high demand of Pratt students or arrogance of the company

Posted by: dutchman at March 30, 2009 9:33 AM

i dont know pson, just anecdotal conjecture i guess.

*r*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at March 30, 2009 9:34 AM

hannible...i agree with you on your 9:33 post. I just put mine on craigslist and had my lawyer do the credit check work for me. Frankly, I didn't want a tenant who had to pay a broker through the nose for an apartment when they couldn't afford it and then I got a bitter tenant because of it. Everybody is much happier that way. It's easy if you just have 1-2 units but I guess becomes exponentially more cumbersome after that.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at March 30, 2009 9:38 AM

Hannible--I agree. The rental agent fee is one of the most disgusting parts of the "market" in my opinion. And in NYC, the fact that they charge FAR MORE than a month's rent (8.3%) for a fee is disgusting. They tend to know nothing, most of the time your visit with them is the first time they have been to the property, some of them don't even have cars and have you "meet them there", and they want to be paid thousands and thousands of dollars.

The best part... they don't even seem to provide much of a "value added service" to the landlords! All it does is add a bit of preliminary bitterness to the beginning of the rental relationship.

Posted by: tybur6 at March 30, 2009 9:43 AM

hannible-

"Here I am I am still a bitter renter. I am lookking for a cheaper apartment and I still can't find one. I keep calling the "Cartel" of real estate agents in Carroll Gardens and I still hear 2400 this and 2400.00 dollars a month there. "

Are you quoting 2400 for a 2BR in CG? Seems market to me, for better or for worse. If and when people with LOTS OF MONEY actually stop paying those rents, then and only then will rents go down. CG has been a hot spot for newcomers and for people buying 1.5 mil brownstoner "fixer uppers". The CG realtors are not a cartel. They charge 2400 a month for a 2 BR because PEOPLE PAY IT.

What do you expect? 1200 a month for a 2 BR in CG? If and when that happens, you'll have worse things to worry about then paying rent. You'll be worrying about water, food and gas and the pending apocalypse.

Posted by: Prodigal_Son at March 30, 2009 9:43 AM

The best part... they don't even seem to provide much of a "value added service" to the landlords! All it does is add a bit of preliminary bitterness to the beginning of the rental relationship.

Posted by: tybur6 at March 30, 2009 9:43 AM

hannible, Part 2

I totally agree with you on rental agents and fees. Completely. My disputing points were about CG market values.

Posted by: Prodigal_Son at March 30, 2009 9:46 AM

Hannible, is it time to turn the tables?

Stick an "apartment wanted" advert on craigslist with your rental limit, location, size and other requirements.

Posted by: the chicken at March 30, 2009 9:48 AM

I get $1,200 for a nice one bedroom in Bed Stuy (with yard use and W/D use in basement).

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at March 30, 2009 9:52 AM

"Pettyjohn sisters, who, out of desperation, rented a crappy, inconvenient two-bedroom in Bushwick last year for $1,700."

No, they didn't rent in Bushwick. They rented in "Williamsburg". At least that's probably what they thought when they signed the lease. Broker fraud, boy, I tell ya.

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at March 30, 2009 10:18 AM

"Where will it stop? Anybody's guess, though the chief economist for Halstead and Brown Harris Stevens says it's unlikely the price trend will reverse until the city stops losing jobs."

No, not a guess. A slam dunk.

Study the comments linked on the online version of the article. The Times subjectively edits out only 5 of like, 47, for you to see right away. Then they stop accepting comments. Comment # 23 calls them out.

I love how the broker tries to downplay the commissions-paid-by-landlord trend. craigslist is gonna crash!

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at March 30, 2009 10:26 AM

more importantly -- do you think i can ask for a reduction in my rent? currently $2300 2br at adelphi & dekalb?

Posted by: bklynbpr at March 30, 2009 10:36 AM

You can ask... sure.

Posted by: tybur6 at March 30, 2009 10:38 AM

if you resign a lease that is less then 20 percent off of what you were paying without looking to see what else is out there it woud be foolish. There is a housing glut in NYC right now that is snowballing. It will take years for the market in NYC to even bottom. Just check out what the big Manhattan landlords are doing. You can get a 1 bed on the UES for 2200 with a doormen right now. Housing glut

Posted by: brickoven at March 30, 2009 10:58 AM

Maybe this site's bitter feud between nervous owners and wannabe buyers has some basis in reality:

"Right now, she said, there is a standoff in the market, with buyers expecting huge discounts and sellers resisting. 'The buyers and sellers have gotten different memos of what the price should be and no one is budging,' she said."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/realestate/29deal1.html?ref=realestate

Posted by: betterside at March 30, 2009 11:29 AM

My wife and I were discussing "how much would our landlord have to lower our rent for us to stay here" this weekend.

We want to move because our place is now overpriced for the market and because the space isn't working that well for us.

Our lease is up in the fall, and it looks like we'll have a lot of options for where to move. We have no intention of asking for a rent reduction before our lease is up, and since we want to move, we weren't going to really ask for any sort of reduction for a renewal.

But when we thought about "what would it take to keep us here" we both agreed pretty quickly on the answer: 15-20% off.

At 15% off, we still look but only move if we find a great deal. At 20% off, we probably don't even look much.

We likely could find cheaper places, but not if you include expense/hassle of moving for what will likely be a place we only stay at for 12-24 months.

I have no interest in playing hardball with my landlord, but I guess if he asks, it wouldn't be fair to not tell him.

Posted by: northsloperenter at March 30, 2009 11:30 AM

Rob - any LL who would rent to someone without checking credit is NUTS - it is FAR FAR FAR cheaper to keep an apartment empty then it is to rent to a professional deadbeat who can live in your building virtually rent-free for the better part of a year while you pay thousands more to finally get L&T Court to issue a meaningful eviction.

Also the trends being described in terms of drastic rent reductions etc.... are mainly a over-leveraged market-rate Manhattan syndrome; where the operators are working on such thin margins and/or little time to refinance and need to show cash flow asap - either to avoid losing the property or at least force the mortgage holders to consider a refinance-credit extension.

For sure this trend will lower overall rents but as you move down the scale - cheaper apartments (especially in outer boros) are being somewhat propped up by people individually cutting back - i.e. looking for the outer boro $1500 1Br as oppossed to the $2000 Manhattan one.

Obviously this trend can't last forever - at some point the differential between Manhattan 'luxury' and outer boro 'practicality' will be too narrow to ignore and the spread will widen, most likely with outer boro rents falling as well.

2 interesting things to watch is 1. Will the Brooklyn 'luxury' nabes like Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope, Williamsburg - track Manhattan or Brooklyn - in past downturns Manhattan still maintained a hefty premium over Brooklyn - but the question can be asked with a cultural renaissance and continued low crime - could parts of Brooklyn maintain or exceed traditionally higher priced Manhattan neighborhoods. 2. Will low crime in even less chic outer boro neighborhoods see more or continued gentrification (albeit with poorer gentrifiers) or will the city trend back to more economically homogeneous neighborhoods of past recessions.

Posted by: fsrg at March 30, 2009 11:30 AM

fsrq... I think crime is going to rise in this economy. Make sure your insurance is paid up. And i don't say this as a joke.

Posted by: tybur6 at March 30, 2009 11:36 AM

Funny, just a few months ago everybody on this site was claiming rents in Brooklyn wouldn't fall because Brooklyn was so desirable.

It's crazy how fast opinions change once hundreds of thousands of jobs are lost and the stock market tanks.

At least NYC will likely bounce back faster than the rest of the country. Though who knows when the bounce back will be . . . hopefully in a few years, but it could be much longer. Ironically, it will probably take a Republican to set things straight.

Every day our Obama led government is screwing things up more and more. Today he wants to run GM; tomorrow who the hell knows what nutty new socialist ideas "the great speaker" will come up with?

Posted by: IronBalls at March 30, 2009 11:40 AM

People with Section 8 vouchers and people with low/middle incomes with families are still having a hard time finding affordable places to rent.

Posted by: Chosen at March 30, 2009 11:54 AM

I asked for a reduction in rent a few weeks ago. My lease is up in September so I am mid-lease. Landlord agreed to a 11% reduction and we will re-negotiate when the lease is up in September. i was somewhat surprised he went for the reduction, but it goes to show it is always worth asking.

Posted by: king of the burg at March 30, 2009 11:57 AM

What does affordable mean? It costs landlords in NYC about $500/mo per apartment, taking all costs, taxes, and misc. expenses into account, to run a building properly.

Of course you can't find a decent family-size apartment for $1000/mo anywhere in NYC that I know of, at least not for rent on the open market.

But there are many other places, like Allentown PA (just an hour and a half by bus from Port Authority), where for $700/mo you can find a perfectly nice three bedroom apartment and you only need to spend one day looking for it!

Posted by: IronBalls at March 30, 2009 12:10 PM

"But there are many other places, like Allentown PA (just an hour and a half by bus from Port Authority), where for $700/mo you can find a perfectly nice three bedroom apartment and you only need to spend one day looking for it!"

lol at Allentown.

Posted by: northsloperenter at March 30, 2009 12:15 PM

P.S. Use to live in the lehigh valley, so I claim former resident rights for lol'ing at it. I seem to remember it got rated "300th best place to live!" out of the 300 biggest metropolitan areas in the US.

Posted by: northsloperenter at March 30, 2009 12:16 PM

To all those who have offered civil discourse on this subject in the past: Thank you.

To all those who referred to me as a "bitter renter" or told me "your rent is due" over the past couple of years when I said I was going to rent and wait for prices to come down before buying: May you get bedbugs and termites.

Posted by: lechacal at March 30, 2009 12:22 PM

I had tried unsuccessfully to negotiate with a landlord to reduce the asking rent from 2500 to 2375 for May 1st in park slope (Union Street between 8 Ave & PPW) ... it was a 2br/2bath the second br was smaller and the living/kitchen window was really small and got little light ... the landlord came down to 2400 but would not go lower ... all I wanted was another $25 lower per month ... my wife thought I was crazy for negogiating so hard for an extra $25 per month but I knew we were in much a stronger position.

... thank god I was unsuccessful because Stuyvesant Town is giving 2 months free, electric & gas included and a 500 bonus if you sign within 24 hours of the first appointment. Since my job was within walking distance from Stuyvesant Town, I also saved on subway ...

Renters would be crazy not to consider re-negotiate or move to Manhatten where landlords are so much more willing to reduce rent.

Posted by: ZooLander at March 30, 2009 12:25 PM

Landlord cost for rental units depend on many variables amount of monthly mortgage, efficiency of heating, age of units, size of building, etc... among them, are different for each owner. There is no hard and fast monthly number. Amount of monthly mortgage, age of units, size of building, etc... are among them.

I am certain that rents in Allentown are cheap but there are no jobs there. Besides, many civilian city workers make under 35K a year and are rquired to live within the five boroughs of NYC. So moving to Allentown or elsewhere would not really be an option for them. Moving would also not be an option for many low/middle income workers who provide us with many of the services that make living in NYC so great.

Posted by: Chosen at March 30, 2009 12:26 PM

""But there are many other places, like Allentown PA (just an hour and a half by bus from Port Authority), where for $700/mo you can find a perfectly nice three bedroom apartment and you only need to spend one day looking for it!"

Yeah and in Detroit I can buy a 2 BR house for $1,000. Thats right, $1,000.

And?

Posted by: Prodigal_Son at March 30, 2009 12:31 PM

Bitter renter, walking on your lease
Bitter renter, when will the griping cease?
Bitter renter
I won’t renew you, You’re not all that
No one could be such a big asshat
Asshat.

Bitter renter, save your cash
Bitter renter, here’s a flash
Bitter renter, give your rent to me
Bitter renter, yeah, yeah, yeah
Bitter renter check my ad
Bitter renter say you’ll stay with me
Cause I need you, I’ll treat you fine
Come with me baby, sign on the line

Bitter renter, don't walk on by
Bitter renter, don’t make me cry
Bitter renter, don't walk away, hey... okay
If that's the way it must be, okay
I guess I'll go on Craigslist, it's late
There'll be some flyer posting, but wait
What do I see
Is he walking back to me
Yeah, he's walking back to me
Oh, oh, Bitter Renter.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at March 30, 2009 12:43 PM

tybur6 - there is absolutely no evidence that crime is going to increase....While NYC may have fared somewhat better than other places for much 2008 - the job losses and other economic problems have been fully impacting the city for the better part of 6mo now - and crime is falling from 2008 levels - which while up in some of the meaningful categories (like Homicide) - 2007 was the best year ever and 2009 so far is shaping up to be close to the '07 numbers.

Time will tell but you'd have to expect that if we were going to see an 'economic' effect on crime numbers we'd already be seeing it. - BTW which is why Bloomberg will win 4mo years EASILY

Posted by: fsrg at March 30, 2009 1:10 PM

Leveraged owner, walking on your mortgage
Leveraged owner, when will the tarp cease?
Leveraged owner
I wont bail you out, you're not all that
No one could be such tard in that
Asshat

Leveraged owner, you have negative equity
Leveraged owner, where is your glee?
Leveraged owner, clear my clogged toilet
Leveraged owner, yeah yeah yeah
Leveraged owner I will pay you half
Leveraged owner I give it to you in the ass
Cause wall street needed you, and treated you fine.
But now you need to state your income, and you want to main line

Leveraged owner, pick that head up
Leveraged owner, you are starting to sink
Leveraged owner, you are under water, hey....
If thats the way you go down you dug your own grave.
You and your family will be moving real soon.
Since you did not realize you were such a bufoon
Oh Oh LEVERAGED OWNER

Posted by: brickoven at March 30, 2009 1:14 PM

Again, this is great news for those who are in this particular rental market but for those seeking slightly less expensive, family sized accommodations, the fact that rents are decreasing doesn't affect them. Or does it? If the people who are renting in Brooklyn because they couldn't afford Manhattan now move to Manhattan, will Brooklyn landlords be more likely to accept subsidized tenants?

I have always preferred Section 8 tenants in my rentals because after a brief delay in processing, I know that the majority of the rent is garanteed and paid on time every month. I also have the tenants Section 8 "worker" to help resolve any problems that might arise.

And I agree fsrg, despite what many people think, economic downturns do not necessarily mean higher crime - during the recent economic boom years, crime rose steadily in other major metropolitan areas. There are many other factors, economics being only one of them, that contribute to spikes in crime. People who are likely to commit crimes during bad economic times are generally just as likely to commit them in good economic times so the numbers are not really affected by this group because their propensity to commit crime is not changed by the condition of the economy.

A poor economy is a cop-out (no pun intended) for Police Departments, city governments, etc... not to institute good policies to decrease crime in their areas.

Posted by: Chosen at March 30, 2009 1:48 PM

brickoven=BHO

Posted by: wasder at March 30, 2009 2:08 PM

"Stuyvesant Town is giving 2 months free, electric & gas included and a 500 bonus if you sign within 24 hours of the first appointment"

Very bad deal. Rents have plenty of room to fall. You'd save far more than $500 if you waited 'til summer. 24 hours??? Yeah, right. I'll come back next week and get a $1,000 bonus.

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at March 30, 2009 2:12 PM

underwasder = aquaman

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at March 30, 2009 2:13 PM

"May you get bedbugs and termites."

Woah, lechacal! You're supposed to be the gentleman.

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at March 30, 2009 2:15 PM

I just moved. im paying less and happy. Ive got a view now too.

Posted by: Santa at March 30, 2009 2:22 PM

wasder = Leveraged owner

Posted by: brickoven at March 30, 2009 2:23 PM

I think termites are easier to deal with than bedbugs.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at March 30, 2009 2:24 PM

"I think crime is going to rise in this economy."

You should. It will.

"There is no hard and fast monthly number."

No, but $500/mo is good enough for argument sake. Beyond that, you're paying for location, architecture and renovation (plus or minus a few services here and there but operating costs aint no more expensive in the UES than in Bushwick with the exception of taxes).

Rents will fall everywhere, folks. There's no escape (already falling brownstone prices will spiral down even further). All tenants get an upgrade. Enjoy.

(Wow! Multiple articles on falling rents from the Times of all sources.)

I love deflation!

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at March 30, 2009 2:29 PM

(B)rick(H)(O)ven= not even worthy of a response

Posted by: wasder at March 30, 2009 2:32 PM

"(B)rick(H)(O)ven= not even worthy of a response"

Contradiction.

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at March 30, 2009 2:35 PM

"Maybe this site's bitter feud between nervous owners and wannabe buyers has some basis in reality"

Not maybe. Absolutely.

"Obviously this trend can't last forever - at some point the differential between Manhattan 'luxury' and outer boro 'practicality' will be too narrow to ignore and the spread will widen, most likely with outer boro rents falling as well."

You bet your knickerbockers. Brooklyn is an extension of Manhattan, not the other way around.

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at March 30, 2009 2:40 PM

I would think that the definition of contradiction would have to include something about actually contradicting the stated information. As I made no response to your name-calling I don't see the contradiction.

I would like however to see the definition of someone who's stated goal is to deny the use of parks to children in order to get a lower priced home.

Posted by: wasder at March 30, 2009 2:43 PM

"I would like however to see the definition of someone who's stated goal is to deny the use of parks to children in order to get a lower priced home."

C'mon, aquaman. You just gave the definition. You know how Jeopardy works. You're supposed to ask for the question. Correct response: What is a bottom feeder?

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at March 30, 2009 2:50 PM

wasder better try to refin. before the rents and values goes down more, that is if you are even worthy of having a mortgage. you are on borrowed time buddy boy. Mommy and Daddy cant keep bailing you out, they lost it all in the market from people like you destroying the markets. Time to cut youre losses before the moil comes.

Posted by: brickoven at March 30, 2009 2:56 PM

I know how Jeopardy works but I think my question would be different. Somehow "bottom feeder" doesn't adequately describe the depravity and lack of regard for others inherent in your hideous posts.

Posted by: wasder at March 30, 2009 2:58 PM

Not only is BHO delusional about purchasing a home at a certain price but also about what his rent will be for the next 10 years once he misses the former opportunity.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at March 30, 2009 3:47 PM

Chosen,

$500/mo ballpark cost per unit is about average for landlord's in NYC and that's for non-doorman walk-up buildings, not taking mortgage payments into account. I'm a landlord too, and have lots of experience managing residential apartments in the city.

I also agree with some of the previous posters about moving to Manhattan. You certainly can get a lot more for your money renting in the Upper East Side right now than you can in Park Slope or Brooklyn Heights.

I'd rather live in Park Slope too, but that's not my point.

Posted by: IronBalls at March 30, 2009 4:11 PM

I agree crime is definately going to go up if they don't start locking some real estate brokers behind bars! Good Governor Patterson just increased taxes on the rich. They will all be moving to Florida and many of us get to live in where we please without being extorted out of our hard earned mony. PS I am drinking tap water. No nickle from me.

Posted by: hannible at March 30, 2009 5:53 PM

Hannible, I agree with your post too. But sad to say I doubt rents on a "two bedroom" floor-through in Carroll Gardens will probably not come down too much lower than $1900 or so. That's just my gut feeling.

I can see that rents are dropping along the L train, like the article said. And on the JMZ.

Re Stuyvesant Town, wouldn't any new renters get sucked into the huge legal tussle developing because the owners are going bankrupt? I'd rather avoid the hassle.

Posted by: mopar at March 30, 2009 6:44 PM

So home prices can't come down so rich children will no longer have parks to play in. Aw that is low bring the children into the quest for greed. It doesn't matter if poor children don't eat or have cloths on their backs because their parents have to pay rent money throuh their nose. If you are a homeowner send your kid in the yard to play. Now you want my tax money to go to your personal park too. Greed and glutney have no shame.

Posted by: hannible at March 30, 2009 10:19 PM

"I can see that rents are dropping along the L train, like the article said. And on the JMZ."

Really? I did a brief browse of Craigslist the other day and it seems rents are still insane around Bedford and Lorimer. Did see a few one bedrooms around Graham for 1500 - but I still feel that's a lot. I hope you're right though, as I could definitely deal with lower rent.

I guess I was fortunate in finding such a great (well, relative I suppose) deal - (2 bedroom equidistant from Bedford and Lorimer L stops for 2,000) but I don't think that leaves me much wiggle room with my Landlord when my lease is up in 6 months, as comparable apartments are still 500-600 dollars more a month. Maybe I'm just greedy?

Posted by: dirty_hipster at March 30, 2009 11:04 PM

Prices seem to be coming down further out. Two bedrooms starting at $1100. Hard to say though.

Posted by: mopar at March 31, 2009 10:50 PM

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March 30, 2009

It's Good To Be A Renter Right Now

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