Manhattans luxury rental market skyrockets reaching $100K a month amid pied--terre tax

Manhattan’s wealthiest residents just found a new way to dodge Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax: Don’t buy at all.The city’s luxury rental market is shattering records as wealthy New Yorkers who could easily afford $20 million or $50 million trophy homes are choosing to rent instead, brokers say, a trend accelerating since the new tax on high-value second homes took effect.Manhattan median rents hit $5,295 a month in July, a record high, up 6% compared with last July and unchanged from June’s plateau, according to a Corcoran Group report obtained by The Post, with the average rent citywide up 10% year-over-year to $6,555.But the real action is at the top.The average price for luxury rentals, the top 10% of the market, soared 35% over the past year to $17,464 a month, or roughly $121 per square foot.The number of apartments renting for more than $50,000 a month has more than doubled compared with 2025.

Units renting for more than $100,000 a month are up sevenfold.“The $100,000-a-month number is almost normal now,” Laura Klein of Bespoke Real Estate, who recently brokered a Chelsea penthouse rental for $177,000 a month, told CNBC.“These are renters who want turnkey, unique, trophy properties.”Two recent examples — a four-bedroom, five-bathroom penthouse in Tribeca at 161 Hudson St.

just hit the market for a whopping $99,000 per month, listed with the Deborah Grubman Team at Corcoran.And a duplex penthouse with sweeping views overlooking Central Park at 988 Fifth Ave.

listed for $95,000 per month, listed with Noble Black of Corcoran.“To some degree, there are New York homeowners who’ve opted to lease out their luxury properties to avoid the pending pied-à-terre tax, thus increasing the pool of high-end rentals,” Gary Malin, chief operating officer at the Corcoran Group, told The Post.“Leasing appeals to wealthy people who want to avoid the responsibilities that come with homeownership.

As I like to say, renting is like dating a...