NYC's new lease signings nosedive as residents clear out

New York City saw a significant decline in new lease signings last month as the coronavirus pandemic causes people to reconsider living in the densely populated city.

Public-facing new lease signings fell by 62.2 percent in May when compared with the same period last year, to 2,190, according to data from Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel. That’s the lowest May total in a decade and the second-largest decline in as much time. The statistic excludes renewals.

The average rental price declined by 1.8 percent year-over-year to $4,144.

Further, May data showed the largest year-over-year increase in inventory listings in 45 months – or 3.75 years.

The report detailed a jump in vacancies all across the island, from downtown to northern Manhattan.

CORONAVIRUS SPARKS 'INSANE' EVACUATION FROM NYC, MOVERS SAY, AS RESIDENTS HEAD SOUTH 

Researchers attributed the trend to the inability of realtors to physically show properties due to state and local shelter-in-place guidance, but many New Yorkers are also leaving the Big Apple.

As previously reported by FOX Business, executives from multiple moving companies said they have seen an uptick in residents relocating from Manhattan – at a time when people in most other areas of the country have been staying put.

Roadway Moving President Ross Sapir, for example, told FOX Business that people are moving out of Manhattan in numbers he has “never seen before,” as his company deals with its busiest season since its 2008 inception.

United Van Lines CEO Marc Rogers told FOX Business that the majority of residents moving out of Manhattan, 61 percent, are earning over $100,000. And those moving out also tend to be older – 64 percent are 55 or over – or in the 25-to-40 age range (25 percent).

The New York market has seen a 40 percent uptick in interest for move-outs when compared with last year, according to data provided to FOX Business by United Van Lines. Those numbers far outpace national trends, which show an average increase of 8 percent during the same time period.

New York City moving company Oz Moving told FOX Business that while its overall workload decreased by 46 percent from March to April, moves out of New York City rose 12 percent between March and May. Meanwhile, moves within New York City were down 47 percent in April when compared with last year.

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The bad news for the Big Apple is that 2020’s busiest season has likely not even arrived yet.

United Van Lines says large moving companies are sitting on thousands of initiatives in queue, predicting the “busy season” this year will occur between July and September rather than the traditional May through July. Rogers said there is a lot of “pent-up demand.”

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