#Manhattan sees record number of vacant apartments amid coronavirus

Vacant rental apartments in Manhattan hit an all-time high in July amid the coronavirus pandemic — a 122 percent increase from the same month last year, new data shows.

Last month, 13,117 apartments were available to rent, compared to just 5,912 in July 2019, according to the Elliman Report from real estate experts Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel.

The staggering number of vacancies in one of the country’s most expensive rental markets is the highest in 14 years of Miller Samuel’s record-keeping.

The report also shows the number of newly signed leases plummeted 23 percent from last July (6,460) to this July (4,949) — though the latter total is up from 3,171 new leases signed in June.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has sparked a mass exodus from New York City, with a vast number of city slickers seeking safety in the suburbs.

As the rental stock increases, rent prices are falling, the report said. The median rental price in Manhattan was $3,167 in July compared to $3,521 in July 2019.

Landlords are offering an average of 1.7 months of free rent to entice newcomers.

A similar report by StreetEasy last month found that Manhattan rents dropped for the first time since 2010.

But living in the city still costs a pretty penny — the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $4,620 and studios are fetching an average of $2,668.