Handy map shows median rents near NYC subway stops

The good news is, rent prices are on the decline...for now

While the rent in New York City is still too damn high, there has been a bit of a silver lining as of late. In recent months, rental market reports have revealed that prices are slowly on the decline—and if you're looking for a discount, concessions are now included on many transactions.

What all that means: If you're in the market for a new apartment, now might be a good time to start looking. To make it easier, listing website Renthop has created an interactive map that pinpoints median rent prices by subway stop—and per their findings, rents are down from the same period last year.

In order to calculate median net effective rents for their map, Renthop used their own rental data for one-bedroom apartments from February through April for both last year and this year; data from MTA Lines and Stops, and graphic information system (GIS) data for subway stops that was compiled by CUNY's Baruch College. Renthop looked at no less than 50 non-duplicated listings within a 0.6-mile radius of a subway stop to calculate median rents and if there weren't 50 listings available, the distance was expanded to 1.2 miles.

The key takeaways: Nearly half of Manhattan's subway stops experienced a negative rent growth; rent prices in the bulk of Northern Brooklyn (Greenpoint, Williamsburg, Bushwick, Bed-Stuy) are on the decline; and some stops in Northwestern Queens, like the Ditmars Boulevard and the Queensboro Plaza stations, have seen lower prices on one-bedrooms in the area.

Apartments in the Bronx seemed to have bucked the trend: stops that were close to Manhattan saw more than five percent growth.

These subway stops that saw the biggest rent drops for a one-bedroom:

• Nassau Av (G) – $2,375 (YoY -20%)
• 116th St (B/C) – $2,150 (-13.8%)
• City Hall (R/W) – $2,915 (-11.3%)
• Marcy Av (J/M/Z) – $2,488 (-11.2%)
• Chamber St (1/2/3) – $3,550 (-10.1%)
• 36 Av-Washington Av (N/W) – $2,200 (-9.7%)

And these stops saw increases from last year:

• East Broadway (F) – $2,825 (YoY 14.1%)
• Park Place (2/3) – $4,029 (12.2%)
• East 180th St (2/5) – $1,900 (10.0%)
• Harlem – 148th Street (3) – $1,900 (8.6%)
• 86th St (4/5/6) – $3,050 (8.0%)
• East 143 St-St Mary's St (6) – $1,879 (7.9%)

Head on over to Renthop for the full report.

• Is New York City Finally Getting Cheaper? [Renthop]