New York, New York - Apartment rentals in New York City's Manhattan borough topped $5,000 a month for the first time in April as vacancy rates tumbled to six-year lows, according to real estate firm Corcoran.

"Manhattan's rental market surged in April 2026, as a sharp rise in demand collided with increasingly constrained supply," Corcoran Chief Operating Officer Gary Malin said in a May 15 blog post.

The median rent last month in the borough was $5,099, up 6% from a year ago.

The vacancy rate fell to 1.55%, dynamics that point to a "market defined by heightened urgency and sustained competition among renters," Malin said.

Rents rose across the board in Manhattan, with one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments setting new records at $5,228 and $8,338.

The rising cost of living has emerged as a potent political issue in New York and elsewhere, fueling the November election of Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

A preliminary vote earlier this month by a rent guidelines panel endorsed Mamdani's plan to effectively freeze rents on nearly one million New York apartments. A final vote on the proposal will take place in June.

In Brooklyn, the most populous of New York's five boroughs, Malin described leasing activity as busy but said that "conditions were less intense for renters."

The median rent in Brooklyn was $4,110, down from February's record high as inventory rose 16% from month to month.

"Overall, Brooklyn remains active, but with signs of a more balanced market emerging," Malin said.