Amid a national trend of shrinking square footage, the Big Apple’s priciest city is shocking. Whereas, in the rest of the country, apartments have gotten smaller—getting really big—in Manhattan.
is according to a new survey By online listing company RentCafe. Across the 15 cities ranked, the study found that the average size of new Manhattan apartments has increased by 3% over the past 10 years, with new units averaging 740 square feet in size. This is 19 square feet more than the average of 721 square feet for all apartments.
However, despite the massive improvements of the past decade, Manhattan still ranks near the bottom of the list in terms of average size, trailed only by fellow boroughs Brooklyn and Queens (692 sq ft and 681 sq ft, respectively) and the city of Detroit. , Portland and Seattle average smaller new apartments. And there’s hardly any upside for those teen outer-borough averages: Both Brooklyn and Queens apartments shrunk by 7% over the past decade.
The RentCafe writers attribute the key to a change in supply and demand. In more expensive housing markets, such as Manhattan and San Francisco (which also saw an increase in average apartment size), deep-pocketed renters are looking for more space, despite higher costs. Meanwhile, in less luxury-focused markets such as Brooklyn, Queens and Detroit, renters are prioritizing affordability over square footage, leading to the development of more compact, but cheaper apartments.
“Despite this growth, apartment inventory in Manhattan – new and old – remained slightly smaller than apartments in Queens or Brooklyn,” the report said. “However, if you choose [a Manhattan] In apartments that were built in the last ten years, you’ll find more elbow room than anywhere else in NYC.