There's no question that rent in New York City is insanely high. 

It seems the enclaves of old are being bulldozed and turned into luxury condo towers left and right, like those planned for the South Bronx and even right on top of 5Pointz, while still calling it 5Pointz. 

Nobody's too surprised that you can't buy an apartment in Manhattan for much less than $1 million, which begged the question, is anyone even buying these fancy new places? The answer is, kind of, yes. Or rather, enough of them for the development trend to continue. 

So it's also not shocking to find out that while availability is at a low point for the Manhattan real estate market, prices are at an all time high. What about rentals?

The latest data isn't really optimistic. Instead, it's pretty brutal. The fact is, there are now more rentals in the City above $15,000 than below $2,000. That's pretty tragic, and it's a new thing.

With only 5% of Manhattan rentals priced under $2,000 per month, we can pretty much cross that off the list of price points. 

For now, it seems the only thing keeping the lowest rents in Manhattan alive is rent stabilization. "I think you're always going to see some of that kind of stock available," says David Berman, salesperson for Keller Williams NYC.

The neighborhoods in Manhattan with the lowest amount of under $2K/month rents are Upper West Side, Clinton, Chelsea, and FiDi. 

via The Real Deal

The Upper East Side, however, is an anomaly within Manhattan right now. While it ranks the highest in exclusive listings on the island, it also has a bunch of units priced between $2K and $4K/month, and many of them closer to $2,000.

The reason? It's simple: turnover. Despite the fact that the UES is full of insanely priced, super luxurious places-- it also has a good amount of "regular person" apartments that people tend to move out of from less than three years.

So, maybe if everybody moves every three years, prices will go down? Wishful thinking, we know... sigh.

Check out The Rent You’re Paying for Your NYC Apartment Might Not Even Be Legal!

[via The Real Deal]