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As Manhattan vacancies grow, rent prices remain steady, reports say

Manhattan rent prices have remained steady, reports say, Above a pedestrian  crosses Park Avenue at 71st Street on the Upper East Side on Sunday, April 3, 2016.
Manhattan rent prices have remained steady, reports say, Above a pedestrian crosses Park Avenue at 71st Street on the Upper East Side on Sunday, April 3, 2016. Photo Credit: @NYPDnews via Twitter

Manhattan’s slight uptick in vacancies has led to a smaller jump in rents and more concessions to tenants, according to two real estate reports released Thursday.

Citi Habitats found the borough’s vacancy rate was 1.98% in February, about .20% higher than during the same period last year. Average rents last month were $3,491, only $9 more than in February 2016, according to the real estate group.

Some of the neighborhoods that had the lowest rent included Washington Heights, where studios had an average rent of $1,550.

Douglas Elliman’s report also found an increase in unoccupied units during the last 12 months as the vacancy rate increased from 2.31% to 2.44% during that time. Average rents went up 2.1%, going from $4,032 in February 2016 to $4,118 last month.

Citi Habitats president Gary Malin said the larger-than-normal number of offerings gave home hunters an advantage as more owners shelled out perks, such as a free month’s rent or no broker’s fee. About 31% of Citi Habitats’ February transactions had a concession, which is 6% higher than the same period last year.

Douglas Elliman also found a surge in perks. The percentage of transactions with concessions went from 19.1% in February 2016 to 26.4% last month.