Average 1 Bedroom Apartment in Manhattan Hits 5100 Hundred a Month

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Think your rent is too damn high? Well, taking a look at the latest figures out of Manhattan might make you feel better by comparison. 

In July, the average rent for a one-bedroom in Manhattan rose to $5,113, CBS News reports. That’s an astounding $1,000 more than a year ago and a new record high. These levels of rent are astronomical and impossible for all but the most affluent New Yorkers to afford. 

But before you blame capitalism or greedy developers, let’s take a deeper look at how rents in New York City got so out of control.

The Basics of Rental Markets and Supply & Demand

How are rental prices determined in the first place? Well, in a free market, supply and demand interact to reach a price. If there’s far more demand for housing than there is supply in a given area, rents will be high, at first. But those high rents will encourage more developers to come in and build housing, increasing supply and ultimately bringing the price down. 

Yet in places like New York City, local governments have made that adjustment impossible through restrictions on supply. The result of artificially-constrained housing supply in a high-demand area is as predictable as it is perilous: high prices and a housing crisis. 

How Has NYC Restricted Supply?

There’s a long and complicated history of government meddling in New York City’s rental market. But here are a few of the biggest ways local officials have hindered the market’s ability to provide affordable housing.

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…New Yorkers will continue to suffer until policymakers wake up—and finally free the rental market once and for all.