Swinging for the Rental Fence

Alex Rodriguez may have his own reasons for living at 15 Central Park West, but plenty of other well-heeled New Yorkers are choosing to rent high-profile properties for top dollar. Hesitancy in the ultra-luxury buying pool has buoyed the market for rental properties priced over $20,000 per month. Currently there are over 230 listings priced above $20,000 throughout Manhattan, with the priciest being a townhouse on East 64th Street asking $85,000. It remains to be seen if all of these trophies are fetching the asking rents but over 30 transactions with rents of more than $20,000 per month have taken place in 2009 already. The prize goes to a penthouse on Houston Street with a monthly nut of $75,000. This variety in location and steep rents clearly demonstrates that those with disposable income are seeking special properties without the risk of purchasing in this market.