Pandemic Prices Are Over for StreetEasy Apartment Listers

Zillow Group-owned New York rentals portal StreetEasy is reinstating its full daily listing fee after over 18 months of discounted prices. Landlords and agents have been paying $3 per day to list on the portal since March 2020 but from September the 1st, the price will go up to $6.

To justify the price hike the company is citing statistics from its own recently published report which it claims show that the market has returned to 2019 levels with apartments spending less time on the market as well as increased user figures on the portal over the last few months.

Commenting on the report's findings, Zillow Economist Nancy Wu said:

"Renters began returning to the market in full force this summer, and landlords are taking notice. They are trying to make up for time and money lost during the pandemic’s lull by raising prices and erasing discounts.

Prospective renters should be prepared for tougher negotiations over the next few months as NYC rents continue rising. But I expect price growth and landlord expectations to normalize as we head into the colder months.”

StreetEasy is the market-leading portal for rentals in the competitive New York market. Bought for $50 million by Zillow Group in 2013, StreetEasy has had a somewhat uneasy relationship with some big-name brokerages and realtors in the big apple. Over the last couple of years there has been an ongoing feud with Douglas Elliman over listings uploads and the news last summer that a group of agencies came together to create a rival platform.

In an American market based on the collaborative MLS model and unused to portal listing fees, StreetEasy's charges have been controversial since their introduction. Although StreetEasy was quicker than some to react with discounts to the impact of the pandemic on its customers, any feeling of goodwill may be about to evaporate come September.