There are several reasons why the NYC rental market is slow right now. One reason is the time of year. January, February is not exactly the best time of the year to pull in a qualified renter. Not that many tenants want to move when it’s 15 degrees outside. So typically, we have a seasonal slowdown at this time of year. Additionally, there is a glut of apartments for rent due to expectations of landlords being too high. As apartments remain on the market for several months, either the landlord drops the price, or more often than not, they give incentives like a free month, pay the Broker fee, or even give gadgets like an Ipad. Incentives are way up compared to even the same time last year. As apartments get rented more and more with incentives, it makes the rental market appear stronger than it actually is. This fuels the expectations of other landlords who look at these rental comps when pricing their property.

I think in 2017 you will see an adjustment as landlord expectations start to come closer to the current reality.