February 2026 housing market report
Key takeaways:
NYC rental market
- As demand continued to outpace provide, the citywide median asking lease rose 8.2% year-over-year to $3,950.
- Stock declined yearly for the twenty fourth consecutive month in Manhattan, the longest streak ever recorded, because the borough sat out the town’s rental building growth.
- Whereas competitors cooled from final yr, renters nonetheless confronted fierce competitors, with the common itemizing in NYC receiving 52.1% extra inquiries than in February 2019.
- Renters on the lookout for two or extra bedrooms confronted probably the most difficult market, with competitors up greater than twofold and stock down 38.8% from pre-pandemic ranges.
- Brooklyn noticed probably the most new leases with no less than two bedrooms final yr, with 42.3% of latest building items providing two or three bedrooms, in comparison with 27.2% in Manhattan.
NYC gross sales market
- Amid winter storms in February, 1,651 houses entered contract in NYC, down 4.2% from a yr in the past.Â
- Manhattan noticed 835 houses coming into contract, up 0.6% from a yr in the past, pushed by resilient high-end purchaser demand.
- As mortgage charges stay shut to six%, a three-year low, enhancements in affordability will assist the market heat up this spring.
New York Metropolis rental stock fell 5.5% from a yr in the past to 25,989 items in February. As demand continued to outstrip rental provide, the citywide median asking lease elevated 8.2% year-over-year to $3,950.
Manhattan led the decline within the metropolis’s stock with a 3.5% drop in February – marking the twenty fourth consecutive month of year-over-year declines and the longest streak of consecutive declines ever recorded. Rental provide within the borough has not saved up with surging demand because the onset of return-to-office insurance policies in 2022, resulting in declining emptiness charges and accelerating lease development.
In February, Manhattan’s median asking lease rose 6.9% year-over-year to $4,700, a document excessive since final summer time. In Brooklyn and Queens, as competitors unfold, the median asking lease rose 7.2% to $3,750 and 5.0% to $3,150, respectively. With low emptiness charges and resilient renter demand, NYC is poised to see quicker lease development in 2026.
NYC Leases Beneath $3,500 on StreetEasy Article continues beneath
Manhattan sat out NYC’s new growth rental growth
As housing manufacturing ramped up in NYC over the previous 5 years, new developments have been quickly increasing the rental provide. In 2025, 18,618 new building rental items joined the market, a 36.6% enhance from 2024. We outline new building leases as items in buildings accomplished within the present or prior yr, contemplating a lag between completion and phased leasing. In 2025, 360 buildings throughout the town accomplished that yr or the yr prior entered the market.
var divElement = doc.getElementById(‘viz1773070725494’); var vizElement = divElement.getElementsByTagName(‘object’)[0]; if ( divElement.offsetWidth > 800 ) { vizElement.model.width=”100%”;vizElement.model.top=(divElement.offsetWidth*0.75)+’px’;} else if ( divElement.offsetWidth > 500 ) { vizElement.model.width=”100%”;vizElement.model.top=(divElement.offsetWidth*0.75)+’px’;} else { vizElement.model.width=”100%”;vizElement.model.top=”727px”;} var scriptElement = doc.createElement(‘script’); scriptElement.src=”https://public.tableau.com/javascripts/api/viz_v1.js”; vizElement.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, vizElement);
Nonetheless, Manhattan was sluggish to catch up. Among the many 18,618 new building leases throughout the town in 2025, simply 2,575 items had been in Manhattan. Whereas a number of large-scale office-to-residential conversions have begun leasing within the Monetary District lately, the borough’s new rental provide has been low in comparison with different boroughs. By comparability, Brooklyn noticed 11,167 new items, greater than 4 occasions that of Manhattan. In Queens, 3,644 items had been added.
Because of this, new building leases make up a tiny fraction of the general Manhattan market. In comparison with all new rental listings that hit the borough’s market, simply 2.8% had been in new developments in 2025. Against this, one in 5 new leases within the Bronx was new building, the best in NYC. In Brooklyn and Queens, 12.6% and 11.5% of leases had been new building.
var divElement = doc.getElementById(‘viz1773071146539’); var vizElement = divElement.getElementsByTagName(‘object’)[0]; if ( divElement.offsetWidth > 800 ) { vizElement.model.width=”100%”;vizElement.model.top=(divElement.offsetWidth*0.75)+’px’;} else if ( divElement.offsetWidth > 500 ) { vizElement.model.width=”100%”;vizElement.model.top=(divElement.offsetWidth*0.75)+’px’;} else { vizElement.model.width=”100%”;vizElement.model.top=”727px”;} var scriptElement = doc.createElement(‘script’); scriptElement.src=”https://public.tableau.com/javascripts/api/viz_v1.js”; vizElement.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, vizElement);
With restricted new building items to fulfill demand, renters have been staying put or competing for present items in prewar properties, that are already positioned in fascinating areas. In Manhattan, lease development for prewar items has been hovering, narrowing the worth hole between new developments that always command greater costs attributable to their trendy finishes and fashionable facilities. In February, the median asking lease for prewar buildings in Manhattan elevated by 10.4% year-over-year to $3,975. In the meantime, the median asking lease for newer leases constructed since 2010 in Manhattan remained unchanged at $5,600.
A big hole in housing provide stays
Whereas new building has surged, renter competitors has been moderating since 2022 when the onset of return-to-office insurance policies led to a peak in renter demand. Whereas competitors has cooled since then, this hasn’t amounted to important reduction for renters, with the common itemizing in NYC nonetheless receiving 52.1% extra inquiries than in February 2019.
Renters on the lookout for residences with multiple bed room confronted even fiercer competitors. Leases with two bedrooms acquired 90.7% extra inquiries on common than in February 2019, whereas items with three or extra bedrooms acquired 143.6% extra inquiries.
var divElement = doc.getElementById(‘viz1773072209820’); var vizElement = divElement.getElementsByTagName(‘object’)[0]; if ( divElement.offsetWidth > 800 ) { vizElement.model.width=”100%”;vizElement.model.top=(divElement.offsetWidth*0.75)+’px’;} else if ( divElement.offsetWidth > 500 ) { vizElement.model.width=”100%”;vizElement.model.top=(divElement.offsetWidth*0.75)+’px’;} else { vizElement.model.width=”100%”;vizElement.model.top=”727px”;} var scriptElement = doc.createElement(‘script’); scriptElement.src=”https://public.tableau.com/javascripts/api/viz_v1.js”; vizElement.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, vizElement);
In comparison with pre-pandemic ranges, the town skilled probably the most important shortfalls in leases with two or extra bedrooms. Two-bedroom rental stock was 31.2% decrease than in February 2019, whereas the stock of leases with no less than three bedrooms was down 51.5%. Although extra plentiful, studio and one-bedroom rental stock was additionally down 19.4% and 23.1%, respectively, from February 2019.
The shortage of residences with extra bedrooms may be difficult for households or renters trying to share prices. Amid sturdy competitors, the citywide median asking lease for two-bedroom items rose 10.9% year-over-year to $4,430 in February 2026, whereas the median for residences with no less than three bedrooms elevated 11.0% to $4,995.
var divElement = doc.getElementById(‘viz1773073599308’); var vizElement = divElement.getElementsByTagName(‘object’)[0]; if ( divElement.offsetWidth > 800 ) { vizElement.model.width=”100%”;vizElement.model.top=(divElement.offsetWidth*0.75)+’px’;} else if ( divElement.offsetWidth > 500 ) { vizElement.model.width=”100%”;vizElement.model.top=(divElement.offsetWidth*0.75)+’px’;} else { vizElement.model.width=”100%”;vizElement.model.top=”727px”;} var scriptElement = doc.createElement(‘script’); scriptElement.src=”https://public.tableau.com/javascripts/api/viz_v1.js”; vizElement.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, vizElement);
Whereas builders have been ramping up the rental provide, nearly all of new items had been studios and one-bedroom residences. In 2025, 61.4% of all new building items in NYC had been studios or one-bedrooms, up from 58.7% within the earlier yr, and 38.3% had been two- or three-bedroom items, down from 41.1%.
In Manhattan, new building items had been closely skewed towards leases with fewer bedrooms, with 72.1% being studios or one-bedroom items – doubtless as builders responded to excessive demand from renters prioritizing fast commutes over extra bedrooms. In the meantime, 27.2% of latest building items within the borough had two or three bedrooms. Renters had been least prone to discover new building items with two or extra bedrooms within the Monetary District, our prime Neighborhood to Watch in 2026, the place near 80% of latest leases had been studios or one-bedrooms.
In Brooklyn, 42.3% of latest building leases in 2025 had two or three bedrooms, greater than 27.2% in Manhattan and 32.1% in Queens. Boerum Hill, DUMBO, Fort Greene, and Greenpoint took the highest spots amongst neighborhoods with the best shares of two- and three-bedroom leases, adopted by Mott Haven within the Bronx.
Neighborhoods with highest shares of 2-3BR new building leases
| Neighborhood | Borough | New building rental items | Share of studios and 1BR items | Share of 2BR and 3BR items |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boerum Hill | Brooklyn | 524 | 32% | 68% |
| DUMBO | Brooklyn | 1,200 | 47% | 54% |
| Fort Greene | Brooklyn | 959 | 48% | 52% |
| Greenpoint | Brooklyn | 600 | 54% | 46% |
| Mott Haven | Bronx | 1,003 | 56% | 44% |
| Flatbush | Brooklyn | 589 | 57% | 43% |
| Williamsburg | Brooklyn | 1,403 | 58% | 42% |
| Gowanus | Brooklyn | 1,282 | 61% | 39% |
| Crown Heights | Brooklyn | 934 | 62% | 38% |
| Astoria | Queens | 943 | 64% | 36% |
| Lengthy Island Metropolis | Queens | 1,707 | 68% | 32% |
| Downtown Brooklyn | Brooklyn | 885 | 71% | 29% |
| Jamaica | Queens | 493 | 72% | 28% |
| Bedford-Stuyvesant | Brooklyn | 575 | 75% | 25% |
| Monetary District | Manhattan | 674 | 79% | 21% |
NYC gross sales market
The NYC gross sales market slowed in February amid colder-than-usual climate in NYC. Throughout the town, 1,651 houses entered contract in February, down 4.2% from a yr in the past. Houses that entered contract spent a median of 94 days available on the market, the identical as February of final yr. Sellers took a pause with 2,760 houses coming into the market, down 10.1% from a yr in the past.Â
Whereas Brooklyn and Queens noticed 7.6% and 11.7% declines in new contracts, Manhattan noticed 835 houses coming into contract, up 0.6% from a yr in the past. The continued sturdy gross sales exercise in Manhattan is probably going pushed by resilient demand from patrons with greater budgets.
NYC Houses Beneath $1M on StreetEasy Article continues beneath
Whereas financial uncertainty persists, the gradual enchancment in affordability will doubtless proceed to help gross sales exercise in NYC. The 30-year mortgage price remained shut to six% in February, a three-year low. The median asking worth in NYC dipped to $999,000 in February, 3.8% beneath a yr in the past, as new sellers adjusted costs in keeping with market situations.
So long as mortgage charges stay secure, new contracts and new listings may ramp up as delayed gross sales and itemizing exercise takes place over the approaching months. With citywide stock up 4.3% in February from a yr in the past, patrons can anticipate extra choices this spring. For sellers, maximizing publicity shall be important as new listings abound.
NYC market information: February 2026
Gross sales
 NYC |
 Manhattan |
 Brooklyn |
 Queens |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median asking worth | $999,000 (-3.8% YoY) |
$1,450,000 (0.0%) |
$995,000 (-7.4%) |
$674,700 (+3.8%) |
| Variety of houses on the market | 13,981 (+4.3%) |
7,072 (-0.8%) |
3,471 (+7.1%) |
2,649 (+13.7%) |
| Houses coming into contract | 1,651 (-4.2%) |
835 (+0.6%) |
436 (-7.6%) |
303 (-11.7%) |
| Median days on market | 94 (0) |
105 (-5) |
84 (+5) |
86 (+17) |
Leases
|
NYC |
Manhattan |
Brooklyn |
Queens |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median asking lease | $3,950 (+8.2% YoY) |
$4,700 (+6.9%) |
$3,750 (+7.2%) |
$3,150 (+5.0%) |
| Variety of houses for lease | 25,989 (-5.5%) |
11,670 (-3.3%) |
9,332 (-5.9%) |
3,996 (-9.7%) |
| Share of leases with worth cuts | 11.8% (-1.3pp) |
14.3% (-0.4pp) |
9.8% (-2.3pp) |
11.0% (-0.4pp) |
| Share of leases providing concessions* | 21.6% (+5.0pp) |
17.5% (+2.2pp) |
24.2% (+7.8pp) |
22.5% (+3.7pp) |
Trying to purchase a house in NYC? Get in contact with our complimentary, licensed StreetEasy Concierge to study right now’s shopping for market in NYC and extra.
StreetEasy is an assumed title of Zillow, Inc. which has an actual property brokerage license in all 50 states and D.C. See actual property licenses. StreetEasy doesn’t intend to intervene with any company settlement you could have with an actual property skilled or solicit your small business if you’re already beneath contract to buy or promote property. All information for uncited sources on this presentation has been sourced from Zillow information. Copyright © 2026 by Zillow, Inc. and/or its associates. All rights reserved.
