Airbnb listings in New York City exceed the number of apartments for rent

The city has nearly three times more short-term rental listings than actual apartments available for rent, Curbed reports. The record-low listing inventory creates tough competition among New Yorkers looking for a rental space. 

The number of short-term rentals available in New York City reached 22,586, according to a third-party data tracker AirDNA. More than 80 percent of these listings were published on the Airbnb website, 13 percent were listed on Vrbo, and 5 percent on both. 

The city’s vacation rental market continues to thrive, and the housing inventory is sinking. Last month, the number of rental units across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and northwest Queens dropped to only 7,669. The declining inventory causes prices to skyrocket. The median rent for leases signed in Manhattan in April reached a record-high $3,870, according to the new market report from Miller Samuel Inc.

Vacation rental websites such as Airbnb are often criticized for aggravating the housing crisis. For the past years, New York has been increasing the number of restrictions when it comes to short-term rentals. In 2011, the state passed a bill that requires homeowners who are renting out their property for less than 30 days to be present during the stay. 

Last year, New York City Council unveiled new legislation, which imposes additional rules for Airbnb hosts and guests. Both homeowners and tenants will have to register with the city. In addition, Airbnb hosts will have to include a valid registration number on all advertisements. 

Short-term rentals remain popular among tourists looking for more affordable stays. An Airbnb spokesperson told Bloomberg that the company's listing inventory has decreased over the past couple of years, and the data mentioned in a report “provides an unfairly narrow look at rental unit availability in a portion of the city versus scraped short-term rental data for the entire city.”

Resources:

“New York Now Has More Airbnb Listings Than Apartments for Rent,” by Kim Velsey (Curbed, 2022)

“Airbnbs Outnumber New York City Apartments in Hot Housing Market,” by Michael Tobin (Bloomberg, 2022)

“April 2022 Manhattan, Brooklyn, & Queens Rentals,” (Miller Samuel Inc., 2022)

“There Are More Airbnb Listings in New York Than Apartments to Rent,” by Serena Tara (thrillist, 2022)