Almost 99 percent of Manhattan rentals are currently occupied, according to a new market report.
The vacancy rate is now 1.07 percent, the lowest it has been in three years, Citi Habitats reports.
Last year at this time, Manhattan vacancies were at 1.17 percent.
At the same time, rents are at their highest. Manhattan dwellers pay, on average, $4,081 a month — from Inwood to the Financial District — for the privilege of living in Gotham.
That tops the previous average rent record of $3,902, which was set in May 2014, according to realty giant Douglas Elliman.
Soaring rents in Manhattan continue to push renters to the outer boroughs.
New rental units in Brooklyn increased an astonishing 379.6 percent, to 1,079 units, while in Queens, new rentals increased 127.2 percent, to 259, compared with the same time last year, according to the Elliman report.
“Developments in Brooklyn and Queens have transformed. There are now better offerings for new luxury high-rise, amenitized buildings, which are sprouting up left and right,” said Citi Habitat President Gary Malin.
“People who aren’t from New York City don’t know where places like Astoria and Long Island City are, but when they go there and see how vibrant the areas are, and if the commute to Manhattan is relatively painless, they are likely to give it a try.”
Real estate appraiser Jonathan Miller, who prepared the Douglas Elliman report, agreed.
“Rents . . . are staying high, and instead of renewing leases, people are willing to move to the outer boroughs so they can stay in the city,” Miller said.
“People are picking up and trying their luck elsewhere.”
The extraordinary jump in new rentals in Brooklyn is also due to the fact that the real estate industry is keeping better tabs on what is going on in the outer boroughs, Miller said.
And while Brooklyn neighborhoods like Williamsburg are no longer a “second choice” but a destination spot, the median Brooklyn rental is still $2,961 a month, which is $447 less than the median in Manhattan, Miller said. Queens also adjusted its market, so the median rental is now $2,597, which is down 12.4 percent from the same period last year.
Landlords are feeling so confident that the concept of offering concessions to renters has practically “collapsed,” Miller said.