Manhattan Apartment Hunters Face Record Rents and Bidding Wars

Manhattan apartment rents hit a record high for the fifth time in the past six months.

New leases were signed at a median of $4,700 in July, up $75 from June, according to data from appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman. Rents surged 9.3% from a year earlier, the second-biggest annual jump in the firms’ data going back to 2008.

It should come as no surprise to New Yorkers that July is one of the year’s most competitive months for leasing, when new college graduates flood in and families seek to move before the next school ...