Queens Rent Spike Leads Nation For 3rd Straight Month: Report

QUEENS, NY — High rents continued to put a squeeze on Queens residents last month as the borough once again posted the biggest year-over-year rent spike among big U.S. cities, a recent report shows.

At $2,342, Queens' average rent for September remained flat compared to August but marked an 8.4 percent increase from September 2017, according to a rent report published last week by RentCafe, a nationwide listing site.

That was the biggest increase of any large city last month, the report says. Queens posted similarly large increases in July and August, though Phoenix, Arizona wasn't far behind last month with a 6.9 percent year-over-year spike.

Brooklyn saw an increase about half as big. At $2,801, the borough's average rent last month was 4 percent higher than in September 2017 but flat compared to this August, RentCafe says.

Manhattan saw the smallest spike among the boroughs RentCafe measured. Average rent there rose 2.1 percent from September 2017 to $4,119, still the most expensive average price in the country, according to the report.

September also marked the end of a rental season that saw the national average rent grow by 1.8 percent, or $25, over the past five months, RentCafe's report says.

Manhattan renters saw the borough's average price grow by $56 in that time, or 1.4 percent of April's average of $4,063, the report shows. That means a Manhattan apartment newly rented in September will cost $672 more over the course of a year than one rented before the peak season, according to RentCafe.

Read RentCafe's full report here.

(Lead image: The Pepsi-Cola sign is pictured in Long Island City in 2013. Photo by Beth J. Harpaz/Associated Press)