Realtor.com: Rent‑stabilized housing "locks" NYC rental market as 89% of renters stay

Realtor.com: Stabilized stock is “locking” New York City’s rental market

Realtor.com’s Q4 2025 NYC Rental Report shows New York City entering a “stay‑in‑place” phase as nearly 90% of renters (89.3%) remain in the same unit they occupied a year earlier, well above the national average of 78.4%. The report links this immobility chiefly to rent‑stabilized housing, which accounts for roughly 40% of the city’s rental stock and posts far lower vacancy rates than market‑rate units. Median asking rent for the city rises to $3,585 in Q4 2025, up $223 or 6.6% year‑over‑year, even as turnover tightens.

Realtor.com’s chief economist Danielle Hale describes the market as “effectively locked in place,” a dual‑sided problem in which rising asking rents coincide with record‑low turnover, intensifying competition for the limited available listings. The report notes stabilized units show a 0.98% vacancy rate in 2023 versus 1.84% for market‑rate units, and that overcrowding is nearly twice as common in stabilized housing — signalling families remain put rather than seeking other options. Hale cautions that policy moves such as Mayor Mamdani’s proposed rent freeze on stabilized units could further squeeze mobility and reduce available inventory, with the potential to push market‑rate rents even higher unless paired with supply expansion.

The report issues a clear warning to policymakers: measures aimed at immediate tenant relief can have countervailing market effects if they do not also enlarge the pool of housing. Realtor.com urges that rent protections be complemented by steps to increase supply, arguing that without new units the pool of leasable apartments shrinks and new households face dwindling options, worsening affordability pressures across neighborhoods.

Neighborhood rent comparisons show wide variation

Borough‑level medians underline that pressure: Manhattan posts a median asking rent of $4,886 (up 7.3% YoY), Brooklyn $3,943 (up 5.0%), Queens $3,355 (up 1.2%) and the Bronx $3,094 (up 4.2%). Six‑year changes are steep in outer boroughs — Brooklyn +45.0% and the Bronx +51.2% — and affordability thresholds require annual incomes ranging from roughly $123,756 in the Bronx to $195,440 in Manhattan to keep rent below 30% of income.

Crowding, tenure and timing add context

The Bronx shows the highest stay‑in‑place rate at 93.7% and a median move‑in year of 2015, underscoring long tenure in stabilized units. For the city overall, six‑year rent change is 24.8%. Realtor.com releases the Q4 2025 report on Feb. 4, 2026, stressing that policy design matters if officials hope to relieve renters without tightening an already constrained market.