Many clients who have flexible schedules ask me when’s the best time to move to NYC. A lot of the activity is based around the semesters when college students are moving around. It has created this standard that people move when the students come in and out. But even though some parts of the year are busier than others it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best time to rent. Read below for further explanation.
Renting in the Summer:
The busiest time for the rental market is in the Summer (June-August). Not only do a lot of graduates come here for their new career/internships/college, but many people in general just move in the summer. Because of this, you will find the most amount of availabilities. You’ll have the best options for a variety of apartments available. Though there are a few cons with renting in the summer. One of the first is that apartments will move extremely fast. This will leave no time for you to think it over, if you like something, you must be ready to sign a lease that day. Another big negative with renting in the summer is the god awful heat. Walking around the city and walking up and down the stairs in the heat, will make you absolutely hate life. But sometimes this works for you, because you will be willing to sign a lease faster. The last negative of renting in the summer is that you will not have any ability to negotiate the rent down. The landlords know that everyone is looking for a place to rent, so they will charge top dollar- and they will get it.
Renting in the Spring/Fall:
The least busiest time of the year for the rental market is in the spring and fall. The biggest positive of renting during this time is that you can get the best deal. Landlords are desperate to rent their apartments so they will accept an application lower than what they have asked for (always submit an application $100 lower then what they ask). Also, you will have more time to decide. Since there is not as many people looking, apartments don’t move as fast, which will allow you some time to see more apartments before having to decide. And the weather will be temperate, so walking around the city will be much more enjoyable. Though it’s harder to find exactly what you are looking for because there are not as many apartments available at this time.
Renting in the Winter:
Renting in the winter is a perfect combination of renting in the summer and Spring and Fall. It’s fairly busy as students who graduate in the middle of the year move in December/January, so there will be a good amount of availabilities. You’ll also be able to negotiate the lease down a bit, but not as much as you would be able to if it was in the Spring or Fall. Though the weather in the winter is hit or miss. This past winter is was very mild. One day is snowed, and only a few inches. And many days it remained in the 30’s if not warmer. I personally think renting in the Winter is the best option is you have flexibility on when you are coming.No matter what time of the year, there will always be apartments for rent. You should start looking 2-3 weeks before you move. It may seem like too short of time to find something, but that’s how it works in NYC. People don’t give their notice that they are not renewing until a month ahead of time, so landlords can’t update brokers until 3 weeks prior. And finding an apartment in a day is totally possible.For further assistance on finding apartments, or for more individualized questions, please contact Sarah Hill, the CEO and Founder of Perfect Strangers of NYC, at Sarah@psofnyc.com.Happy hunting!