Prudential Douglas Elliman 2nd Quarter 2010 Manhattan Rental Market Overview - Prepared by Miller Samuel

NEW YORK, July 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The Second Quarter 2010 Prudential Douglas Elliman Manhattan Rental Market Overview reveals a stabilization in rental prices, a doubling of the rentals from 2009 (including all size rentals, but especially smaller units), and a 32% reduction in inventory.

"The number of rentals was up sharply while listing inventory saw a pronounced decline," said Jonathan Miller the President/CEO of Miller Samuel. "Additionally, days on the market of properties fell by a full month."

"There has been a pronounced improvement in the Manhattan rental market over the past year," said Dottie Herman, President & CEO of Prudential Douglas Elliman. "Renters are now paying closer to asking rents than they have in several years, and landlords have been able rely less on concessions to manage their vacancies."

Manhattan Rental Market Highlights

Rental price indicators were mixed this quarter with average and median rental prices posting declines and rental price per square foot showing an increase.  The cause was a large reduction in the average square footage of an apartment that was rented during the quarter.    Days on market reduced by a month over the same period.  Landlords reduced their reliance on concessions as evidenced by the decline of listing discount to levels seen prior top the Lehman Brothers "tipping point" in the fall of 2008.

Key Trend Metrics

• Average rental price declined 3.3% to $3,710 from $3,839 the same period last year and down 2.7% from $3,812 the prior quarter.
• Rental price per square foot jumped 12.3% to $49.60 per square foot from $44.16 per square foot during the same period last year, and up 5.7% from $46.91 per square foot in the prior quarter.
• Median rental price declined 3.2% to $3,000 from $3,100 in the same period last year and down 3.2% from $3,100 in the prior quarter.
• Average square footage of an apartment rented in the second quarter declined 14% to 898 square feet compared to 1,043 square feet in the prior year quarter.
• Number of rentals surged 141.2% to 5,659 units from 2,346 units in the prior year quarter.
• Listing inventory fell 31.8% to 4,972 units from 7,290 units in the prior year quarter.
• Days on market was 53 days, down from 83 days this time last year.
• Listing discount was 1.8%, down from 9.5% in the same period last year.

About the Prudential Douglas Elliman Manhattan Rental Market

The 2Q 2010 Prudential Douglas Elliman Manhattan Rental Market Overview rental report incorporates similar metrics used in our Manhattan Market Overview enabling like comparisons between the sale and rental markets.  This report includes analysis by average rental price, median rental price, rental price per square foot, number of rentals, days on market, listing discount and listing inventory.  The rental market is also subdivided by location, number of bedrooms, doorman, luxury and loft.  A quarterly format was selected over a monthly format due to the limited reliability of a smaller data set when analyzing submarket trends.

About Miller Samuel

Miller Samuel is an appraisal and consulting services firm established in 1986 covering the New York City metropolitan area. Miller Samuel provided property valuations of more than $5,000,000,000 in the past year. The company's clients include domestic and international financial institutions, law firms, consulting firms, developers, employee relocation companies, co-op and condo boards, managing agents, individuals and government agencies. The firm developed what is now the largest database of Manhattan co-op and condo sales covering the sales market back to the late 1970s. For more information visit www.millersamuel.com.

About Prudential Douglas Elliman

Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate is New York's largest residential brokerage, with over 60 offices, more than 3,500 real estate agents and a network of national and international affiliates. Prudential Douglas Elliman ranked in the top four of all real estate companies in the nation in 2007 and 2008, and was recently ranked #1 in the nationwide network of Prudential Real Estate Affiliates. The company also controls a portfolio of real estate services, including Manhattan's largest residential property manager, Douglas Elliman Property Management, as well as PDE Title and Preferred Empire Mortgage Company. For more information on Prudential Douglas Elliman as well as expert commentary on emerging trends in the real estate industry, visit the Prudential Douglas Elliman site at www.prudentialelliman.com.

SOURCE Prudential Douglas Elliman