Manhattan rents reached records as wealthy New Yorkers increasingly choose to rent rather than buy. Median Manhattan rent hit $5,000 a month in July, while the average rose 15% from a year earlier to $6,306, according to The Real Deal Report by Jonathan Miller, director of markets for Street Matrix. Luxury rentals, defined as the top 10% of the market, rose 35% over the past year to an average of $17,464 a month. Brokers attributed the shift to a shortage of high-end properties for sale, buyer concerns about Manhattan resale prices and New York's new pied-a-terre tax. The number of apartments renting for more than $50,000 a month has more than doubled compared with 2025, while listings above $100,000 a month have increased sevenfold. Ultra-high-end homes are typically marketed privately through a small broker network. The tax applies to second homes worth $5 million or more and to co-ops and condominiums valued at $1 million or more when they are not primary residences. Enforcement has been temporarily paused after a legal challenge by three Staten Island homeowners, although Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration appealed, triggering an automatic stay of the lower court's order.