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Real estate purchase prices are through the roof in Manhattan, so the smart people have been saying rent till the bubble bursts. But rental prices and availability in New York City are going through the roof also. Not only are 1 bedroom apartments starting at 3,000 per month in doorman buildings, they are nearly impossible to find.

And you want to know the kicker? You have to show a 40 to 50 times income to rent ratio, so for a 3,000 a month apartment in Manhattan, you have to have an yearly income of 120,000 to 150,000 dollars to qualify, or get a cosigner to guarantee the rent will be paid.

All of a sudden the high price of housing is starting to make sense.

Five years ago, roughly one in 100 rental apartments were unoccupied. Today, only about one in 220 of these units are available for rent, according to a sales agent with DJK Residential, Daniel Kahn. “Inventory is so low that, even people who have the money, and have all the paperwork prepared, are still having trouble finding places,” he said.
So tight is the market in the one-bedroom category that it can be a challenge just finding listings to show clients, Mr. Kahn said. “We used to be able to go out and show clients 10 places, and now we can only show them, maybe, four.”
As a rule of thumb, New York landlords require their would-be tenants to earn a gross salary of 40 to 50 times the price of one month’s rent. By those standards, a person looking to rent a $3,000 one-bedroom apartment would have to earn between $120,000 to $150,000, or else secure a co-signer to guarantee the rent will be paid. Mr. Kahn said he recently worked with a couple, both professionals in their late 40s, who had to secure a guarantor to seal a rental deal. “I’m constantly dealing with people who don’t want to have to ask their parents,” he said. “To avoid this, some offer to pay six month’s rent upfront.” via  The New York Sun.

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