According to a report released by New York real estate valuation agency Miller Samuel and real estate agency Douglas Elliman on Thursday, Manhattan apartment rents rose an average of 5.9% to 3,216 US dollars in September, the first increase since the beginning of the epidemic in May last year, and recorded the biggest monthly increase since December 2019.

As employers return employees to their Manhattan offices, demand for apartments has surged, enabling landlords to charge higher rents.

The report shows that last month's Manhattan apartment transaction price was only 1.1% off on average compared to the asking price, far lower than 4.5% in the same period last year. Landlords are also cutting occupancy incentives to attract tenants: 30% of the new leases signed in September included incentives such as waiving part of the rent or having landlords pay agency fees, compared to 55% last year.