Manhattan Apartment Rents Show Signs of Potential Record Highs This Summer

Increasing Rent Prices in Key Metro Areas Despite Disinflationary Trend

The consumer price index's rent component has demonstrated a strong disinflationary trend since reaching its peak in the summer of 2023. However, high-frequency data indicates that rent prices in major metropolitan areas are on the rise.

High-Frequency Rental Data Points to Rising Costs

Despite the decelerating rent component print in the March Consumer Price Index, several high-frequency rental data points indicate that the cost of signing a new lease on a house or apartment is increasing.

Manhattan Apartment Rents Set New Record for April

A new report from appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate, as cited by Bloomberg, indicates that Manhattan apartment rents have set a new record for April. The average cost of new leases signed in April was $4,250, a $9 increase from the previous April. Prices peaked at $4,440 in August of last year, experienced a slight decrease in the fall, and have been on the rise since the start of this year.

Will We Beat Last Summer's All-Time Highs?

Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel, posed the question of whether this summer's rent prices will surpass last summer's all-time highs. Given the current trajectory and momentum of rents, Miller believes it's likely.

Single-Family Rent Index Shows High Annual Appreciation

CoreLogic's latest Single-Family Rent Index, which assesses changes in single-family rent prices nationally and across major cities, "regained strength in February, posting the highest annual appreciation since April 2023," according to Molly Boesel, principal economist at CoreLogic.

Risk of CPI Rents Turning Back Up Later This Year

While CPI rents are expected to be deflationary as they catch up to lagged real-time indicators, there's a risk that they could increase again later this year if high-frequency data continues to rise.

Potential Implications for Bidenomics and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell

If this happens, it could spell more bad news for Bidenomics and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who is currently facilitating this fiscal disaster as inflation continues to burden low-income households.

Earlier this week, Stan Druckenmiller rated Bidenomics an "F" in an interview with CNBC's Joe Kernen.

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