New data shows that rent prices in Queens and Brooklyn aren’t rising as fast as they were before. In December 2024, the year-over-year rent increases in these two boroughs were smaller than they were in 2023. Meanwhile, Manhattan rents are actually going up faster now than they were a year ago. This shift suggests that renters may be hitting their financial limits in outer boroughs, while Manhattan continues to bounce back.

Queens and Brooklyn See Smaller Rent Hikes

In Queens, average asking rents went up 3.7% in December 2024 compared to the same time in 2023. That’s a drop from the 4.5% growth rate seen the year before. Brooklyn followed a similar trend, with rent rising 3.5%, down from 4.1%.

This slowdown means that landlords are struggling to raise rents as much as they used to. That could be because many renters simply can’t afford to pay more. These two boroughs had been heating up for years, but the momentum is now slowing.

Manhattan Rents Are Still Going Up

While Queens and Brooklyn are cooling down, Manhattan rents are rising faster than before. In December 2024, asking rents there grew 4.2%, nearly double the 2.2% increase from a year earlier.

Why? A big reason is the limited supply. Manhattan saw a 13.4% drop in available rental units compared to the year before. That means more people are competing for fewer apartments, which drives prices up. Higher mortgage rates may also be keeping people from buying, so they stay in the rental market longer.

Rental Listings Are Up Outside Manhattan

Both Brooklyn and Queens saw more rental listings by the end of 2024. In Queens, listings increased by 9.7%, jumping from about 3,774 to 4,140 units. In Brooklyn, listings grew by 7.9%, reaching 9,718 available units.

This higher supply means renters have more options, and landlords may be more willing to offer deals or lower prices to fill empty units. Manhattan was the exception, with inventory falling significantly—another reason rents are rising faster there.

More Freebies and Deals for Renters

With more available apartments and fewer people able to pay high prices, landlords in some areas are offering concessions, things like a month or two of free rent, to attract tenants. In Brooklyn, areas like Windsor Terrace, Downtown Brooklyn, DUMBO, and Greenpoint had some of the highest rates of these rental deals.

In Queens, neighborhoods like Jamaica and Long Island City also saw landlords offering incentives. These deals suggest that even in popular areas, demand is softening, and tenants have more negotiating power than they did a year or two ago.