Corona Crisis: Covid-19 pushes New York rents to record lows

New York: Coronavirus pushed New York City's rent to record lows, according to StreetEasy economist, Nancy Wu. "A lot of renters have been moving out of the city temporarily or permanently," Wu said. "New hires are not moving into the city because they're working from home. And more apartments are coming onto the market as leases expire."

That means increased supply and weaker demand, and record high price cuts. Plus, renters tastes have changed. Pet-friendly apartment buildings used to be high on the popularity list. Now, backyards and washers and driers in the apartment are in high demand. "New Yorkers are staying and working from home longer than they've ever had in the past," Wu said. "They are looking for more space, greater affordability over a shorter commute time to their offices."

The U.S. government released two important real estate statistics this week, one showed that U.S. home sales increased by the most on record in June, boosted by historically low mortgage rates, the other said that sales of new U.S. single-family homes rose to a near 13-year high in June.

The reports also said that the housing market outperforms the broader economy amid record low interest rates and migration from urban centers to lower-density areas. But the outlook is being clouded by low inventory and high unemployment amid the COVID-19 pandemic.