New York Habitat Blog

On September 19, 2007, The Wall Street Journal reported that construction of new hotel rooms is expected to decline by about 1% in 2008 because of the tightening credit market and possibility of recession. New York’s vacation accommodation market, which includes hotels and vacation apartment rentals, has been red hot over the past several years with prices and occupancies increasing faster than in many cities around the country.

While large hotel developers need a longer time to react to a changing market, owners of furnished accommodations have more flexibility for their property use. Based on current market conditions, the vacation accommodation market in New York has several factors that help make it impervious to this national shift in the industry, including:

· A large portion of foreign travelers who bring currencies other than the dollar to New York
· A long-standing lack of supply of available rooms and apartments available for rent

With these market conditions, New York Habitat continues to increase our inventory of vacation accommodations and plans to continue finding new properties to offer throughout 2008. If you are interested in listing your apartment fill out the form online or call us at (212) 255-8018. If you would like more information about the market, read our New York Furnished Apartment Market Report. For investors read our Tips about: Furnished Apartment Investments in New York

Have some inside information about new projects in New York? Share below.

New York Habitat is proud to release the first in its series of semi-annual furnished apartment market reports. The first one covers the New York market and information on furnished apartments, vacation rentals and roommate share units our company has to offer. The report is available at the Furnished Apartment Market Reports section of our website.

“During its 18 years of service, New York Habitat has built a vast domestic and international clientele,” says Vice President François Roux.  “We are proud to present specialized information about furnished apartment rentals that is of interest to real estate investors, leisure travelers, corporate professionals and exchange students.”

The market report contains statistics and analysis about the first halves of 2005, 2006 and 2007. It includes information about the following market statistics:

• Average length of stay
• Average price by apartment type
• Percentage of apartments rented by type
• Percentage of apartments rented by neighborhood
• Price ranges by apartment type or neighborhood

New York Habitat has created a Furnished Apartment Rental Market Reports section on our website, where this and future reports will be available.  The next New York Market Report, to be released at the end of the year, will contain cumulative second half and full-year results.

The long-term goal is for this report to be an informative guide for owners who decide to lease, and vacationers and other renters who are looking for housing options during their stay in New York.

We anticipate that you will find this market report informative and look forward to reading your comments on the blog about any questions or items you would like to see in future New York Furnished Apartment Market Reports. You can also e-mail the market report team at marketreport@nyhabitat.com

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For information about the 2nd half and full year 2007 read: 2007 New York Furnsihed Apartment Market Report is published

The New York apartment and hotel market continues to show strong occupancy, with an especially hot market in the Times Square area. 

The May 7th issue of Crain’s New York Business reports on its continued growth and popularity in Lisa Fickenscher’s article (entitled “Times Square Push” in the print version). The article notes that Times Square has 25% of Manhattan’s hotel rooms and accounts for 9% of the city’s total economic output.

New York Habitat has looked at its bookings over the past year and found that similar to the study mentioned in Crain’s, over 30% of our bookings for vacation rentals are occurring in the Midtown West area.

The apartments in the Times Square area:

One of the most important factors in selecting an apartment or a hotel room for your stay is to find something to meet your specific needs. With hundreds of offers within walking distance of Times Square, New York Habitat has the perfect mix of accommodations and bed and breakfast rooms to meet the needs of even the most discriminating travelers.

Some typical examples include a studio in Midtown West (NY-10010) for $240 a night with a fulltime doorman and a one-bedroom in Midtown West (NY-11423) in a high-rise building with views of the Hudson River for $297 a night.

New York Habitat also has some unique offerings to add a little something extra to your New York experience. These apartments include a 3-bedroom in Midtown West (NY 12189) that sleeps 8 people and has a terrace, or a 1-bedroom apartment in Midtown West (NY-12092) near the middle of Times Square that is located on a high-rise building’s penthouse floor with a terrace for $405 a night.

Additional Midtown West Neighborhood info:

The study in Crain’s goes on to note that eight out of every 10 tourists visit Times Square during their vacation. New York Habitat points out that because of its subway hub that includes the 1,2,3,7,S,A,C,E,N,Q,R and W trains, access to the rest of the city is convenient.

When visiting events at Javits Center including The Toy Show, The Auto Show and The Travel Show consider staying near Times Square because since it is one of the most accessible neighborhoods to the convention center.

Also, with a growing diversity in retail shops and restaurants in the neighborhoods because of the growing fulltime community, this is one of the best places to set up base during your New York vacation.

Photograph provided by francois-roux-photography.com

On April 26th, 2007 the New York Sun featured an article titled, “A Global Boom Converges on the New York Market.” The author, Michael Stoler, detailed the advantages of investing in New York properties.

Today we look at the advantages of considering investing in a furnished apartment in New York.

Before considering an investment in New York property, it is important to consider a few key questions that will help you to determine if a furnished property rental could be your best choice:

• Q: What sort of involvement do I want with the investment?
  New York Habitat’s Tip: Furnished rentals tend to be more active investments because there is more turnover in clients.
• Q: What is my objective from the investment?
  New York Habitat’s Tip: The objective is less important but one advantage of furnished rentals is that you can also use the apartment when you come to New York.
• Q: What is my budget?
  New York Habitat’s Tip: The great thing about furnished rentals is that the budget is flexible. For $300,000 and up you can find single apartments and if your budget is higher you can consider entire buildings or several units in a building.

Once you answer these questions, you will have a better idea whether a furnished rental apartment makes sense for you.

The advantages of offering Furnished Rentals include:

• Ability to use the apartment when you travel to New York
• Higher rates of return versus unfurnished rentals (Rental costs remain high in New York)
• Strong demand for short-term housing options (Global Tourism: High demand for accommodations)
• Ability to convert to unfurnished housing at any time

New York Habitat would be happy to speak with you about the benefits of investing in furnished properties and one of our listing agents can give additional tips on what types of apartments make the most sense for each type of investor.

To read more about listing your apartment: Tips from the Pros: How to list your apartment

In 2006, New York Housing costs rose by 6.5% as the supply in the market remained tight with an average vacancy rate between 1% and 2%. The 6.5% increase in housing costs was the largest since 1989 and was caused by several factors, including the low level of vacancy, the low percentage of new constructions that were rental units, and the fact that New York City’s population continues to grow. By 2030, Mayor Bloomberg expects that the population in New York will grow by at least a million people.

New York Habitat is well aware of the tight housing market and constantly monitors pricing trends to ensure that apartment rentals are offered at appropriate rates. Visit our pricing page, which details the current average prices for apartment rentals in New York. Furthermore, when traveling to New York, remember to consider other neighborhoods, plan in advance for the greatest selection and consider all options to find the best apartment to suit your needs.

Over the past several years, global tourism has soared. On January 29, 2007, Yahoo News reported that China is set to pass Spain as the second most visited country in the world while France remains the top destination. As worldwide travel continues to grow, finding comfortable accommodations in the world’s top destinations becomes more and more difficult.

New York Habitat is uniquely positioned to offer a practical solution for people looking for an apartment rather than a typical hotel room. With more then 500 short-term accommodations listed at any given time in New York and Paris, as well as several hundred offerings in London and the South of France, New York Habitat offers plenty of choices for the discriminating traveler and those on a budget. All of our apartments include fully stocked kitchens, clean linens and a feeling more like home.

The Yahoo News article goes on to mention that tourism in Western Europe and America has remained fairly stagnant. New York Habitat’s contention is that because it is increasingly difficult to find suitably priced accommodations in these areas, tourists are looking to travel to other places like China.

New York Habitat strives to spur global tourism by expanding our offerings. Check out our latest additions in New York, London Paris and the South of France.

The London Housing market is one of the most expensive in the world. Fining a reasonably priced apartment in a popular neighborhood can be difficult and landlord requirements can be even steeper. New York Habitat’s Corporate Relocation Service is well equipped to handle you corporate relocation needs.

On February 7th 2007 The New York Times included an article “Searching, and Finding, in Costly London”; the article mentions that the cost of renting an apartment whether furnished or unfurnished is higher then New York and are often quoted in weekly rates because the monthly rates just sound too high. The article specifically mentions the Kensington neighborhood where rent can be as high as 4000 pounds a month for a nice two-bedroom apartment. Additionally the London landlords often require higher security deposits of 1 and ½ months or even 2 months rent.  

New York Habitat’s Corporate Relocation Service offers apartments through out the city in various price ranges and has relationships with landlord to ensure that our customers are treated fairly in the sometimes challenging market.  Some of the offerings include LN-371, a spacious studio in the City section of London, LN-287, a one-bedroom apartment in the City section of London and LN-78, a corporate style one-bedroom apartment in the Kensington section of town.

By working with New York Habitat Corporate Relocation Services we can take the stress out of finding the perfect apartment. Our agents have many years experience in the market and can ensure that all of your need are met during your apartment search. If you are interested in working with our team contact Charles Rearden at +44 (20) 7953 3996 or charles.rearden@nyhabitat.com.