Over the past year, rents have been dropping across the city as the economic fallout from the pandemic is felt across all sectors.
A new study indicates that rents for one bedroom apartments near 418 of NYC’s 473 subways dropped between 2020 and 2021.
But three stations in The Bronx are on the top five list that saw the biggest rent increases in the city during this same period.
According to data from RentHop’s recent study, rents for one bedroom apartments near the 167th Street Station on the B and D line on the Grand Concourse saw an increase of 5.6% to $1,795 when compared to last year—the biggest increase in the city according to the study.
Located just one stop after Yankee Stadium, the area has easy access to midtown by subway or express bus and is next to the Bronx Museum, Andrew Freedman Home, Yankee Stadium and sits within the Grand Concourse Historic District.
The station itself was renovated in late 2018 and reopened in early 2019 and features mosaics of prominent Bronx public figures (or those with some connection to the borough) from Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the nation’s first Latina to sit on the country’s highest bench to activist and poet Audre Lorde.
Next on the list is the 238th Street and Broadway stop on the 1 line which saw a 5.2% increase to $1,890 a month for a one bedroom.
Located in Kingsbridge with Spuyten Duyvil, Riverdale, and Fieldston in close proximity just blocks away, it’s not surprising that this relatively stable area has seen an increase in rents.
Rounding out the top five list is a tie between 183rd Street and Fordham Road Stations on the 4 line with a 4.4% increase to $1,775.
According to RentHop, these are the top 5 stops that saw the largest increase in the city:
- 167th St. — B/D trains ($1,795; YoY 5.6%)
- 238th St. — 1 train; $1,890 (YoY 5.2%)
- Far Rockaway/Mott Ave. — A train ($1,673; YoY 4.6%)
- New Lots Ave. — 3/4 trains ($1,724 YoY 4.5%)
- 183rd St and Fordham Rd. — 4 train ($1,775; YoY 4.4%)
This is a huge difference when compared to several Manhattan subway stops which saw the largest rent drops like 66th Street Lincoln Center on the 1 line which dropped by 23% to $3,100 and others all of which saw greater than 21% decrease in such rents.
Overall, rents for one bedroom apartments near 88% of subway stations saw drops but the aforementioned three in The Bronx bucked the trend.
The study, which was conducted by data scientist Shane Lee at RentHop, took a look at rental data for one bedroom apartments between January 1st and March 31st of both 2020 and 2021 and looked at a minimum of 50 rental listings within a half mile from the stop. If less than 50 listings were available, the search was expanded by 1 mile.
The Bronx was and continues to be one of the hardest hit places in America as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and had the highest unemployment rate in history during this time that exceeded 25%—figures unseen since the Great Depression—so it’s baffling that landlords think it’s acceptable to increase rents in what’s still the most economically depressed borough of the city.
Check out the full study over at RentHop.
