A NYC Apartment Is Smaller Than A Closet And Available To Rent For $1200
The worst thing is it might not be the most unreasonable option in New York City.
Krakenimages.com / Shutterstock For several years now, rent has been going up at alarming rates. It’s at its worst in big cities where supply is low and demand is high.
New York City is notorious for its high rent prices. Real estate agent Omer Labock took to TikToker to show off an apartment that’s actually reasonably priced but not reasonably sized.
Labock shared a shoebox-sized apartment in Manhattan that comes with a hefty price tag.
Labock, part of the Douglas Elliman real estate group in New York City, shared one of his recent finds in a video on TikTok. “This has to be the tiniest apartment in Manhattan. This is insane, guys,” he said.
In the video, he showed a room that is smaller than many walk-in closets. “This is the entire apartment,” he proclaimed. “No bathroom. No kitchen. All you have is this closet to my left here, probably from IKEA.”
He then showed viewers the bathroom, which is roughly the same size as the apartment. It’s a communal bathroom that’s a short walk down the hall.
“For $1,200 a month, you can live in what’s basically a bedroom,” he stated, although the apartment was smaller than most bedrooms.
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Commenters on Labock’s TikTok were shocked. “Why are we calling the broom closet an apartment?” one asked. “It’s missing 98% of an actual apartment!” said another person.
However, the apartment isn’t so outrageous given that it’s in the heart of New York City. One person joked, “Largest and cheapest NYC apartment.”
Rent for apartments in New York City, especially, is unbelievable.
Local New York news station WABC TV reported that “average monthly rent in New York City has jumped to a record-high of nearly $5,600.”
Forbes used data from Apartment List to determine that “the average national rental price in the United States is $1,372.” This means New York apartments are more than $4,000 over the U.S. average.
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New options like Cohabs exist to try to combat these prices.
As rent prices have skyrocketed in New York City, people have sought ways to make do with this new reality. Another TikToker, Archer Williams, shared the rise of “Cohabs” in the city.
Cohabs are “shared houses” for “coliving in New York.” To create them, investors buy large buildings (one of which, according to Williams, was once valued at $2.7 million) and convert them into communal living spaces, with common areas like kitchens and living rooms, and individual bedrooms for everyone.
Cohabs in Manhattan cost around $1,650 a month. Cohabs put the $1,200 closet-sized apartment in a new light.
While the bathroom is communal and something would have to be done about a kitchen, it is considerably cheaper than a Cohab, and it doesn’t come with the downside of living with strangers. However, Cohabs also have perks, like weekly cleaning of common areas and WiFi.
Any way you look at it, rent has exceeded insane levels in New York.
Whether you’re looking for an apartment, a Cohab, or an extremely small bedroom, rent in New York is clearly out of control. Other states like Hawaii, New Jersey, and California also come in with high numbers, according to Forbes.
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As prices for all things around the country stubbornly stay where they are, instead of decreasing along with inflation, it’s hardly surprising that rent has become such an expensive commodity. The only question is how people will continue to pay such high prices for something as essential as shelter.
Unfortunately, according to WABC TV, “While typically, what goes up must come down, these hikes are sticking around.”
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news and human interest topics.