New York City Vacancy Rate Increases; Luxury Market Still Tough to Navigate

Renting an apartment in New York City is definitely not easy, or cheap. In fact, up until recently, New York apartments were considered the most difficult to rent by Marcus & Millichap's National Apartment Index, which evaluates the 43 most populous rental markets. Surprisingly, though, a mild uptick in vacancy rates in New York apartments in 2007 has pushed the city down to the number three spot in the index. Currently, both San Francisco and Seattle are considered tougher places to get apartments by the good people at Marcus & Millichap.

There's one aspect of renting an apartment that New York City still holds the crown in: luxury apartments. The city offers more luxury apartments – both total and per capita – than any other major city in the country. The nation's financial industry is, after all, one of the most profitable industries in the country, and the wealthy victors in the world's financial battles – as well as the well-compensated losers – all need a place to lay their head in the Big Apple as much as the next guy.

Renting a luxury apartment is, in many ways, a lot easier of a task than purchasing one. This is mainly because most of the luxury New York apartments for sale are (in)famous coops. Coops don't, of course, condone such plebeian processes as renting an apartment. Furthermore, the process of being allowed to own an apartment in some of these buildings often involves interviews – which often don't go well – and a number of other unique screening mechanisms that are just no fun to be on the receiving end of – especially if you end up getting rejected.

Renting may be a bit easier, but unless you are only planning on being in the city for a very short amount of time, it is usually a bad investment. And if you are looking for a luxury apartment, you probably have the money to own.

Fortunately, a number of new luxury condos are being built, as are a good amount of ordinary luxury apartments. That being said, though, vacancy rates remain, despite their recent minor uptick, low by historical standards. This is especially true for luxury apartments, which are less effected by economic downturns such as the one that the nation is currently experiencing.

So, it makes good sense to make as efficient use of your apartment searching time as possible. There are several websites that offer customized searches that are particularly useful for luxury apartments. www.citycribs.com is one example. It has the best search engine and listings on the net. Elika Associates is a leading New York luxury buyer's broker, which offers the most high-end service available for those looking for luxury New York City apartments . Their website is www.elikaassociates.com

Nicholas Adams Judge is a freelance writer specializing in business, politics and economics. He holds a B.A. in political science and will begin his PhD studies in political economy and public opinion next fall. He has studied economics and political science at a number of different institutions, both here and in the U.K., including Amherst College, Warwick University, Oxford University and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.