NYC monkeys - anyone sign a lease lately? What are rents looking like? I'm moving to NYC in Feb/March and want to get a 2 BR with a buddy in Soho/West Village/Tribeca, maybe Gramercy. Would $5-5.5k per month get us a decent 2 BR 1 BA?
| +58 | SpaceX IPO - what are your thoughts | 13 | 4h |
| +28 | Should I use Claude or chatgpt? | 16 | 21h |
| +23 | Funny Things to Say to Interns | 11 | 1h |
| +18 | London's future as a financial centre | 18 | 3d |
| +12 | Playing the $10K WSOP Main this year in Vegas | 0 | 16h |
| The Great Debate | 13 | 1h | |
| +7 | E ink/electronic notepads | 4 | 2d |
| +5 | get a model before you model | 3 | 3d |
| +5 | Pity that RU athletes can still compete | 2 | 19h |
| +3 | Finding Someone in 2026: Lost Cause? | 10 | 2d |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
Maybe soho you’d find something close to that but the rest of those areas, absolutely no shot.
That would put you back around $7,500
Depends how you define “decent”, but honestly very little at that price for a 2 bedroom in those areas. Just check StreetEasy, you end up with 0 listing in TriBeCa, a few in WV, the ones in “Soho” are really Hudson square (and tiny…350 sq ft 2 bedroom…nope…), and a couple close to gramercy on 3rd ave.
Anyway, those are all expensive areas, you can find a unit in those areas, but they will be pretty simple and nowhere near the luxury your user name may be accustomed to…
Yah- with a $5000-5500 you are probably right in the sweet spot for a large one bedroom that could be flexed with a temporary wall into a 2 bedroom. A one bedroom in those neighborhoods in a doorman building will be in the high $4s-$6K. Maybe check out Chelsea too as there are more of these types of buildings there. You are going to need at least 800-850 sq feet (depending on layout) and probably won't have much of a living room but it is what many in their 20s do who don't want to live in StuyTown, Brooklyn, or Hoboken.
If it makes you feel any better, no one is in a good position in NYC right now. I am in my early 30s living with my wife in an $8000 2br/2ba and was hoping to move up to a 3br this year. A 3br/3ba in a good Manhattan neighborhood that was fire-saleing for about $11-12k last year (for obvious reasons) is now going for $18k+ if you can even find one available. I just cannot bring myself to pay that much in rent so will likely be hunkering down until we look to buy a house.
Hadn’t realized how low the inventory is for a 3+ bedroom. Now you are making me think of renting mine out. If you decide on splurging on an apt let me know :)
Why tf would you pay $8k a month in rent? Like r u out of ur mind?
What do you suggest? Am I out of my mind? No...we have no issue affording this rent and it is less than 10% of our combined income. Housing in NYC once you have some savings is a just a lifestyle/ cash flow choice, nothing more. If I wanted to buy this place it would cost about $3mm +/-. Instead, I choose to pay 3.5% rental yield, have 0 headaches related to the Condo board/management, have same day maintenance to fix any issues, and can pick up and move with a month's notice if I want to while putting no levered capital at risk in an illiquid asset.
..
Well. you can be saving ~$50k a year and investing that if you got a $4k/month apartment instead of $8k/month ($4k can get you a really nice apartment). Imagine stashing in the $50k a year you're now saving into the market each year for the next 5-10 years, you will have millions over a decade through the compounding effect.
Again, this is a ridiculous statement. Why not get a $2k apt? Or share with 4 other people and spend $1k? Or live 2 hrs from work? Everyone has a “minimum” of what they want, in general as you make more you are willing to pay for some more luxuries. When you make $1mm+ you want to enjoy some of it. It’s not all about saving for when you are 60.
I’ll take this a step further - you could be homeless and save 100% on rent.
https://newyork.craigslist.org/search/mnh/apa?nh=127&nh=124&nh=123&min_…
LOL- good luck renting off Craigslist. I fell for that "too good to be true" pricing when I first moved to the city at 22 but I can assure you they're all bait and switch or grossly misadvertised. $5300 3br in TriBeCa? Come on man...
Yeah you could be right. The pin on the map looks off on the listing too so may be bait and switch.
I moved recently to my 4th apartment in NYC. This was the first time that I experienced agents expecting us to write an offer above list. To be clear, I'm talking about renting, not buying, which was a surprise especially as we're on a favorable rent cycle.
As a best practice, you should try to have a packet of paperwork ready to go when you look at places. Things like proof of employment, recent paystubs, bank/investment statements are all generally asked for and will improve the chances of locking down an apartment that you like. Now more than ever, if you see a spot that you like, don't take a couple days to think about it as it will likely be gone.
Yeah gotta act fast and usually need access to a cashiers check for 3x months rent or so.
Check out StreetEasy. It's super easy to look at apartments and get an idea of what's in your price range. Unfortunately NYC is the most expensive it's ever been right now.
You could get a 2/1 with issues (3+ flight walkup, huge rental building with terrible staff, right above a nightclub, etc) for around $6k but it won't be luxury by any means. If you're new to NYC, almost no units in that price range will have a washer/dryer and some won't have a dishwasher. So make sure you check for a dishwasher in photos/videos, and laundry in building should be affordable for you.
Depending on where you work, Murray Hill and FiDi are more affordable, and Hells' Kitchen honestly isn't a bad place to live if you're north enough to be close to the park.
Make sure you visit these in person because videos can hide a lot of terrible things. In other cities you can get away with renting off a video, but NYC you really have to verify everything in person.
A nice 2br in SoHo/WV is going to be way more than $5k. That’s the price of a 1br.
1 bed's are about $5k now. Would think $8k+ for a 2 bed.
Cut the price in half by getting 2 hot females, sleep in the same bedroom as them and make them pay rent.
That's what I did, literally lived with 2 random hot females and my frat bro in Murray Hill for like 1k each.
Also hooked up almost every day with those sluts. It's like being friends with benefits but also financial benefits.
Note: this only works if you're a conventionally attractive guy that females want to be roommates with
How much is a studio in manhattan? Could you find a bare bones no-doorman above-a-restaurant apartment for 1-2k/month?
In Manhattan, not really…possibly Brooklyn
No you can't. It's tough to even find studios for 2k in Jersey these days let alone Manhattan.
Looking on Streeteasy, there are about 20 studios under $2k in the entire city, excluding Harlem and the Bronx. The issue won't be that it's above a restaurant, more like zero light, 300 square feet, no kitchen in unit (seriously), scary tenants and very old/questionably kept up to code building etc. HIGHLY recommend you get 2-3 roommates in that price range, you can do pretty well around $2k per person.
Also I clicked on a few and Streeteasy offered me help with looking for Section 8 housing if that gives you an idea of what you get in that budget
These amounts are insane. I'm baffled by how some of the posters are treating this like it's normal (which to be fair to them has become normal)
SF / NYC (Manhatten) are just not livable anymore at a decent standard for those outside of the 1%
Doloribus sit id quisquam laudantium provident. Consequatur accusamus impedit atque in.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Et maiores molestiae asperiores ea qui sit sed distinctio. Voluptatem fugit est laudantium enim enim reprehenderit.
Aut numquam magnam veniam vitae veniam et. Facilis enim autem earum quas voluptatem ab. Rerum ut ullam qui dicta nesciunt laudantium cum. Nihil voluptatem sunt odit consequatur enim consequatur nulla. Nihil fuga sapiente et magni. Qui aut ab sint officiis voluptas. Consectetur qui sapiente est libero voluptatum explicabo.