• A new report found that the median rent for a Manhattan apartment is $5,000 a month and climbing.
• Inventory has fallen as New Yorkers can't afford to move.
• Mayor Zohran Mamdani has pledged 200,000 new homes in NYC, but it's a lofty goal.

Renting a New York City apartment isn't for the weak.

The median Manhattan rental price for a market-rate apartment soared to $5,000 in July — up 3% from June and 6% from July 2025 — an August 13 report from The Real Deal and appraisal firm Samuel Miller found.

The record-high rent comes alongside a staggering drop in public market listings. Apartment inventory in the borough has dropped by roughly 4,000 units, or 39% year-over-year, as homes are spending far fewer days on the market and people are signing leases with fewer discounts off the asking price.

Last summer, rentals spent an average of 48 days on the market. This summer, it's 36. Shorter duration on the market is typically an indicator of tighter supply and higher demand, as aspiring renters snap up open units more quickly.

Finding housing in the city has long been a challenge. Business Insider has heard from single moms who moved in together to cut costs, side hustlers struggling to make ends meet, and retirees worried they can't pay to age in the city.

The majority of New Yorkers spend more than 30% of their income on rent, the threshold economists classify as unaffordable.

Prices are jumping as inventory drops

The rental market trends are largely in line with America's broader housing market. A 2026 report from the Harvard Joint Center on Housing Studies found that the US has a significant shortage of affordable homes and that rents are rising. Even so, vacancies for both expensive rentals and single-family homes have increased, as many families can't afford to move. This kind of market stagnation is also reflected in NYC, as the Real Deal report showed the number of new leases dropped by 19%.

The Real Deal report also found that, in Manhattan, prices are rising fastest for apartments with two or more bedrooms. The year-over-year median price for "luxury" units — those in the top 10% of the market — has jumped 31% year over year to $13,750 a month.

Downtown neighborhoods have the steepest prices, followed by the West Side, East Side, and Northern Manhattan. Listing inventory across all areas, however, has dropped about 40% in the last year.

To address the housing affordability crisis, Mayor Zohran Mamdani launched his "Block by Block" plan, which aims to build 200,000 affordable homes during his tenure. Business Insider has covered city efforts to convert historic hotels into apartments, construct low-cost senior housing, and repurpose libraries, office buildings, and city-owned property for homes. Increasing supply could help lower prices in the long-run.

The city and state have pledged billions of dollars to these housing initiatives and are also leaning on support from nonprofits, developers, and big banks to foot the bill.

The Real Deal report only captures market-rate units, not rent-stabilized apartments, which make up 44% of Manhattan's housing. Mamdani's rent freeze — one of his top campaign promises — takes effect this fall and will cap rents on those rent-stabilized apartments for one- and two-year leases. While rent freezes can help alleviate costs for (often high-earning) residents in the short term, the policy can cause market-rate costs to increase. A rent freeze under former Mayor Bill de Blasio lapsed for this reason.

• Andrew Tsao transitioned from a six-figure tech job to being an artist in New York City.
• Medicaid and lifestyle changes helped him heal after the switch.
• Tsao's first art show, "The Art of Surrender," marks his farewell to NYC before returning to Taiwan.

It took Andrew Tsao a layoff from his six-figure tech job, Medicaid-subsidized therapy, and a psychedelic session to realize he wanted to be an artist in New York City. His first art show ended up as his goodbye letter to the city he called home for 13 years.

The 34-year-old artist and life coach, born in California and raised in Taiwan, is based in Brooklyn and recently finalized his first art exhibition, "The Art of Surrender." The collection, displayed in T.O.L.K. — a Bushwick café and art gallery in mid and late July — served as his final homage to the city, as he returned to Taiwan on August 5 to complete the military service required to retain his citizenship.

Since the opening, he has sold his first four pieces at his first art show, two for $500, with the help of the coffee shop's owners, who did not take a commission. He was able to hold the show under his planned budget.

Yet, it was just a year ago that he started calling himself a part-time artist. During his time in New York City, he has worked in B2B sales, held multiple tech jobs at startups, become a career and life coach, and found his passion for art. All the while, he has had to learn how to afford to practice art in one of the most expensive cities in the country after his income fell from six figures to under $25,000 when he left the corporate world.

Tsao is among the many New Yorkers who have adapted how they live to keep up with the city’s high cost of living. Business Insider has documented similar trade-offs throughout our Cost of the City series.

From a one-way ticket to a six-figure career

After graduating from the University of Southern California, Tsao moved to New York with a one-way ticket and no job lined up. He worked in B2B sales before transitioning into the tech industry, where he became a product manager, earning over $100,000 a year at a healthcare startup doing opioid addiction treatment.

Then came the pandemic. Although Tsao's company had gone fully remote a few months prior, he was laid off on May 15, 2020. Frustration with the layoff led to Tsao taking steps toward entrepreneurship. He began coaching early-stage founders and taught them how to build websites without coding.

The career change came at a financial cost: Tsao watched his annual income fall from six figures to less than $25,000. He had some money in his 401(k) and savings from his tech career, which he invested in opening his own business. Although he could move back in with his parents in Taiwan if things got worse, the loss of financial stability weighed on him and made him reassess his priorities.

"It is true that there are things that could feel more heavy," like paying bills, he said. "I was able to really be clear with myself of what I need to really feel joyful and safe."

Tsao found that while the city takes a lot, it offers a lot too

Tsao realized his priorities were to have a roof over his head and access to affordable food. The trade-offs he made included going out less often, cooking rather than ordering delivery or eating out, and choosing longer subway commutes over Uber rides.

"It actually did allow me to realize that there's a lot of things that are really beautiful in New York, even if you're not having as much disposable income," he said.

Tsao concluded that New York City can be unaffordable and affordable at the same time.

He exchanged pricey concerts for walks through Prospect Park, came up with creative date ideas, and took advantage of the Culture Pass, which gives New Yorkers free access to museums and libraries. He shifted from buying books from Amazon to discovering the Brooklyn Public Library, which became his favorite place to read and find books.

"I found creative ways to really enjoy living in New York City, especially Brooklyn, on a budget," he said.

During the pandemic, he moved into a two-bedroom apartment with in-unit laundry, which he split with his ex-girlfriend. By the time he moved out in June 2026, the rent was around $1,300 each. He temporarily stayed in a sublet until he moved to Taiwan.

Besides rent, he budgeted around $150 a month for groceries and kept his art-supply costs down. Most of his materials were donated by friends or found on Brooklyn patios. Yet, he did pay $12 per bottle of ink and about $38 for Posca markers.

Healthcare was one of the biggest shifts he experienced

As Tsao's income bracket fell, he was caught by something else — Medicaid. After qualifying for the federal program, he began to receive both emotional and physical treatment, which he would not have looked for when working in tech and paying for his own private health insurance.

Through Medicaid, he began seeing a social worker at Le Santé Health Center in Flatbush for weekly therapy sessions.

"I was trying to separate my identity and value from productivity, output, and how people perceived me," he said. "I would not have gotten therapy if I had not been on Medicaid."

He also began to receive Medicaid-subsidized physical therapy for chronic pain in his upper-right shoulder, which had developed in 2020 from a combination of leaning forward at his desk and recreational bouldering.

"From a health level, it was the most abundant I had ever felt," he said. "That was really one area that the change in affordability didn't make me feel more constrained. Actually, it made me feel like I had more options."

A new beginning in art, and a farewell to New York City

Tsao found that what he enjoyed about coaching was the emotional guidance he brought to it. In 2022, he replaced his technical, no-code coaching with coaching for executives and people in leadership roles — $200-$250, hour-long sessions — which were his main source of income.

"I realized I liked talking about those feelings more than I liked the technical coaching," he said.

Tsao realized he "also wanted to live" what he was coaching.

This realization, tied to his period of personal healing and one psychedelic session, led Tsao back to art. During that session, he began picking up art materials and rediscovered his love of painting. Afterward, he began using art materials he had received from friends and carving out time to create while supporting himself through coaching. His mixed-media abstract work featured in the exhibition explores ancestry, Eastern and Western identities, and connection to the self through ink, collage, crayons, and colored markers.

This shift is what led him to his first art exhibition and now to the send-off for the city he lived in for 13 years. He will miss the city's pizza and diversity, but most importantly the vibrance of its people — from buskers on the subway to dancers in Washington Square Park.

"I think about the New York that doesn't really relate to things with price," he said. "I definitely do think about the concerts I've been to, the food I've had, the encounters at that. But most importantly, the love letter is everything in between. It's for the little pockets of magic."

• NYC Mayor Mamdani wants to build 200,000 new homes.
• Some of these new housing projects will be on land the city already owns.
• An economist told Business Insider that the plan may face funding hurdles, but would boost supply.

Zohran Mamdani is making a big bet on turning city-owned property into affordable housing.

The New York City mayor plans to oversee the construction of 200,000 affordable homes across the five boroughs. It's a significant undertaking that will require new builds, hotel and office building conversions, and widespread rezoning.

To control costs and limit red tape, the Mamdani administration is encouraging new development on existing public land, like converting libraries into mixed-use buildings or building on unused parking lots. If successful, a supply boom could help lower-income New Yorkers access housing and put downward pressure on overall prices.

The administration's goal is to identify public sites to support at least 25,000 new affordable housing units over 10 years. Ten projects — which are likely to yield a few thousand apartments — are currently in planning and development stages.

Building on city-owned property is "not a silver bullet," said Jake Krimmel, senior economist at Realtor.com. But it's one lever City Hall can pull.

City-owned land could be a piece of the affordable housing puzzle

A majority of New Yorkers spend more than 30% of their income on housing, the threshold economists define as unaffordable. Business Insider has heard from single moms who moved in together to save on rent, parents who are making just above the threshold for benefits, and six-figure earners struggling to make ends meet.

The city owns and leases a staggering amount of land, but not all of it is suitable for housing. "A lot of the city-owned land is not necessarily the easiest thing to build on because of zoning rules or parcel sizes and shapes," Krimmel said.

An analysis by the New York University Furman Center found that about 10,000 of the 15,000 plots in NYC's portfolio are currently zoned for residential use. A third of city-owned lots are overseen by the Department of Parks and Recreation, suggesting they may already be in use as parks, open public spaces, or sports facilities.

Buildable space is also a consideration. Krimmel said a very limited number of vacant lots in the city clear both the size and zoning bar for housing. That means the city will need to get creative with existing developments; Krimmel suggests stacking housing on top of civic buildings where possible.

He added that a public land construction push won't solve all of NYC's housing woes, but "if you're trying to make good policies, you need to leave no stone unturned." The city turning to existing public land is a great idea, he said, though selling it to developers for affordable housing use could be another financially-smart option.

"The city has valuable assets on its books," Krimmel said. "The question is whether it deploys them by building itself or whether it attaches affordability requirements, upzones, and lets other developers carry the financing and operations."

To reach its goal of 200,000 new affordable units, the Mamdani administration will also need support and resources from City Council, Albany, private developers, and taxpayers. As my colleague Juliana Kaplan reported, part of the reason New York is so expensive is it's a desirable place to live — which is unlikely to change anytime soon.

The Mayor's Office hopes its proposed rent freeze, universal 2-K childcare program, fast and free bus pitch, and other affordability initiatives will help lower New Yorkers' cost of living in the meantime. These initiatives go hand-in-hand with housing access, the mayor said.

As he told a crowd in Queens last month: "We will no longer speak in the language of promise. We will speak in the language of the present. We will build more homes."

• NYC City Hall released its detailed plans for affordable housing.
• Mamdani is supporting new construction, apartment-friendly zoning, homebuyer assistance, and more.
• The mayor hopes the plan will help lower- and middle-income New Yorkers.

Zohran Mamdani has ambitious ideas for New York City housing.

The Mayor's Office dropped its detailed policy plan — called "Block by Block" — on May 26, outlining goals to build more apartment buildings, convert unused offices and hotels into living space, and help residents navigate one of America's most expensive housing markets. Housing access has been a cornerstone of Mamdani's affordability agenda, with buzzy promises to freeze the rent for a large swathe of NYC apartments and address "bad landlords."

"When New Yorkers can afford a home, they can afford to dream," Mamdani said at a press conference Tuesday morning.

From construction to creative living solutions, here are Business Insider's biggest takeaways from City Hall's plan.

Boosting building opportunities

New York needs to build, baby, build. Vacancy rates hovering at historic lows are one of the biggest factors pushing up rents in the city, and Mamdani's blueprint lays out a slew of measures that aim to both reduce the costs of building and get more stock online.

Part of the plan is to simply build more housing, with a goal of 200,000 more homes in the next ten years. That's underwritten by $2.5 billion allocated towards more building from the mayor's budget, with the homes built subject to regulations that bolster construction workers' pay and benefits.

City Hall also wants to build more on public sites like Sunnyside Yards, a rail hub in Queens that sits between several bustling neighborhoods. That proposal would connect the neighborhoods currently separated by rail tracks, and build a deck over the rail infrastructure that could house what the report calls "a new complete neighborhood." The report also notes that the city would need federal support to build that new neighborhood — part of Mamdani's pitch to Queens native Donald Trump in early 2026.

Some proposals hinge on existing (and future) buildings. One is a program that would lower insurance costs for affordable and rent-stabilized units, which have seen soaring premiums. The plan says it would infuse $100 million to help fund a newer, more affordable insurance program, with a goal of both keeping costs more stable for current housing and saving the city money on new builds, since it currently has to subsidize those higher insurance prices.

Other aspects of the plan include expanding access to a water affordability benefit for those in affordable housing, and expanding a program that helps rental buildings and income-restricted co-ops improve their energy efficiency. The plan also aims to improve elevator service in public housing, and address leaks and plumbing issues in those units.

Supporting creative housing solutions

Through partnerships with developers and revised zoning policies, the mayor plans to convert some existing commercial buildings into apartments. The city said the recent overturning of a decades-old state cap on new developments would allow more NYC buildings to be allocated toward housing.

Both the local and state governments are working to convert the historic, and currently vacant, Stewart Hotel in midtown Manhattan into permanent housing for 550 households. Roughly half the units will be dedicated to providing affordable options for formerly-homeless and low-income households, per the plan. Some of the buildings' square footage will also be dedicated to providing on-site social services for tenants.

A largely vacant commercial skyscraper on Brooklyn's Flatbush Avenue received zoning approval in March. The building, which is on city-owned land, will be converted into 1,200 apartments, 350 of which will be "deeply affordable." Former private office building 100 Gold Street — which currently houses various city agencies in lower Manhattan — will also be converted into 3,700 apartments, 900 of which will be permanently-affordable homes.

The city also said it is trying to make it easier for New Yorkers to build accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on their property. That includes a program to help residents navigate their hyper-local zoning laws for ADUs, especially in historic districts. The city plans to streamline permitting for manufactured ADUs, which are significantly cheaper than custom-built units, making them easier for property owners to install for use by renters, elderly family members, or guests.

Beyond building more housing, Mamdani plans to begin a pilot this year to legalize basement apartments in the city. This will make it easier for homeowners to ensure their basements are up to code and can be made into safe apartment units. Homeowners who participate in the pilot this year will receive some financial support from the city to install smoke alarms, test for contaminants, and more.

Helping New Yorkers navigate the housing market

NYC is notorious for its cutthroat housing market, and renters make up 70% of city residents.

The Mamdani administration said it is taking steps to curb "bad landlords" by strengthening code enforcement and taking action against property owners who harass or neglect their tenants. The city is already hosting "rental ripoff" hearings in all five boroughs so that New Yorkers can share their concerns directly with City Hall, and the mayor said he is strengthening legal avenues for tenants to expedite emergency repairs. Mamdani also said he supports the development of tenant unions, which help renters collectively protect their rights. This goes alongside plans to reduce evictions and speed up cases in housing court.

City Hall wants to make New York more affordable for buyers, too. Mamdani is set to expand an existing downpayment assistance program to serve up to 300 lower-income first-time homebuyers. A new mortgage assistance program will provide repayable, no-interest loans to help low-income homeowners resolve mortgage problems.

The mayor added that he is moving forward on plans to freeze the rent in NYC's rent-stabilized apartments alongside City Council, but the policy has not yet been implemented.

The success of a rent freeze — alongside many of the other programs in the city's housing plan — will hinge on legislative support and funding at the local, state, and, sometimes, federal levels. Still, the mayor is feeling confident.

"Combined, these efforts will lead to growth beyond anything New Yorkers have seen in generations," Mamdani said. "For some, the dream of home ownership will finally be within reach. Others will be able to sleep easily in homes they no longer fear losing."

Bernie Sinclaire calls herself a "mommunist."

For nearly two years, the 38-year-old has raised kids with her best friend in their shared Manhattan apartment — and she couldn't recommend the setup more. She and Anabelle Gonzalez, 39, have a household rhythm: they trade off chores, cooking, and doing crafts with their elementary-age children. Better yet, the pair splits bills in one of America's most expensive cities.

"We'll be laughing on the couch, playing with our kids, and dinner is made, and the kitchen is cleaned," Sinclaire told Business Insider. "It's been mind-blowing to be able to just sit and talk. That was not something that I experienced when I was in a relationship, and it was not something I was able to enjoy as much when I was a single mother."

In a city where paychecks are stretched thin and monthly daycare costs rival rent expenses, New Yorkers are pinching pennies. A recent report from the Mayor's Office found that it costs the average family $159,000 to live and raise children in the five boroughs, and that's just for basics like housing and healthcare. Sixty-two percent of all residents — and the vast majority of single-parent households — don't earn enough to meet their cost-of-living threshold. It's hardest for mothers, who are often paid less than men and shoulder more childcare responsibilities.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani took office with a mandate to make the city more affordable. He has announced a plan for universal childcare for toddlers and preschoolers, which builds on the existing NYC Public School free 3-K program. Other proposals aim to lower the cost of apartments, buses, and food. It's a big task, especially as the city's housing demand continues to outpace supply.

To make ends meet, Sinclaire and Gonzalez became a dual-income household with a combined $200,000 — and really fun wallpaper.

"This is not the Mojo Dojo Casa House," Sinclaire said, referring to Ken's bachelor pad in the "Barbie" movie. "This is the Barbie Dream House."

'A utopia'

The concept of a "mommune," or commune of moms, has always made sense to Sinclaire. She was raised in Italy by a single parent, and said she watched her mother have to "choose between poverty and partnership." She wanted to avoid being financially dependent on a man.

"That was a dream and a wish from early on: to create a family not centered on male partnership and not centered on romance," she said. "Friendships are way more long-lasting, and it didn't make sense to me to have my children's welfare and financial security hinge on something that data shows over and over again is not really working for most women."

Sinclaire and Gonzalez met at an NYC graduate school in 2013 and stayed in touch when they became mothers. Sinclaire has two sons, ages 4 and 9, and Gonzalez has a 7-year-old daughter. Gonzalez had divorced when Sinclaire pitched moving in together.

"It took me time to process because you don't really hear about that type of alternative family," said Gonzalez, who grew up in Brooklyn. She didn't agree right away. "At first I was like, 'Okay, girlie, I love you, but what are you talking about? Then I cried at the end of the conversation because it sounded like a utopia."

The pair initially settled into Sinclaire's existing two-bedroom apartment, then upgraded to a three-bedroom, two-bathroom Harlem unit costing $4,550 a month. Their monthly rent is roughly $600 higher in the new place, but they say the space is essential as their kids grow. Their two incomes allow them to stay local. In upper Manhattan, about 52% of renter households spend 30% or more of their income on housing, the threshold housing economists typically define as unaffordable.

Both women teach at the same public high school, and said their finances have become more stable since they began sharing costs. Last year, Sinclaire earned $94,278 after deductions and Gonzalez earned $106,952, tax documents reviewed by Business Insider show. They split the $600 monthly grocery bill 50/50, then Gonzalez covers WiFi, and Sinclaire pays the electricity bill.

Childcare is divided, too. Sinclaire's youngest son is now old enough for free 3-K (which saves over $1,000 each month), and the others are in public school. The two moms trade drop-offs, pick-ups, and watching the kids. When there's a gap, they call their part-time caregiver. "She's been with us forever," Sinclaire said. "And we don't have as many hours for her as we did before, but she's our lifeline." Their monthly childcare costs average $600, with Sinclaire paying a larger share because she has two kids.

Since starting the "mommune," Sinclaire said she saves about $1,200 more each month, which goes to her emergency fund, retirement, and kids' college accounts. Gonzalez said they also spend less on takeout and impulse purchases because they can split household responsibilities and avoid burnout — something that wasn't the case in either of their previous relationships. That time and energy savings can't be overstated, she said.

"You want to be honest about your soul and boundaries and your lifestyle up front," Gonzales said. "Talking about money is uncomfortable — and it has been uncomfortable for me and for Bernie because it was the first time we, as friends, were talking about it — but it's important to talk and be honest about money."

'A New Yorker forever'

Gonzalez is the first to wake each morning to start breakfast. "I don't do measurements," she said, but each plate turns out delicious anyway. Sinclaire — a recipe loyalist — prefers cooking dinner.

Their children act like siblings and enjoy playing together, with occasional squabbles. The moms are each other's support system, and treat all three kids like their own.

"I think that if you're blessed to have a big community, you might not see this as something very different," Sinclaire said. "But if you are, like many mothers, 'default parenting,' and you're overwhelmed and you've lost your sense of self, friendship is lifesaving."'

Sharing a life has given the two more space for their creativity. Gonzalez co-owns a clothing brand. Sinclaire has been able to spend more time on art and is turning years of handwritten journals into a book. Saving money has also given the family more resources to travel. They took the kids to Mexico recently and plan to take their "first solo mommy trip" to Turks and Caicos this summer.

The pair hasn't sworn off romance, but they wouldn't trade it for the "mommune."

"A lot of times people are like, 'This is crazy, that you're going to move in with another woman,'" Sinclaire laughed. "And I said, 'How is that more crazy than moving in with a man that you met online and having children with him?'"

"Yes, we do date," Gonzalez added. "But anybody who dates people will understand that you live in your house and I live in mine."

Even when the kids get older and move away, the moms don't think they'll part ways. There are simply too many Jon Hamm TV shows, Cardi B albums, and nightlife spots for them to appreciate together. They see the "mommune" lasting long past their child-rearing years.

Plus, rent isn't getting any cheaper, and neither of them wants to leave NYC.

"I'm a New Yorker forever," Gonzalez said. "I love my city."