Entering the city’s housing market can be a frightening proposition, which is made even more intimidating by the difficulty in tracking the available housing stock. The easiest way to find your ideal place, aside from going directly to a building’s management company or landlord and pleading for an apartment, is to use a website or an app.
But with so many options, it can be difficult to decide which websites are the best and which ones you should stay away from when looking for a new house (ahem, Craigslist). Additionally, every significant brokerage in New York City, including Corcoran, Douglas Elliman, Compass, Brown Harris Stevens, etc., has a website with listings for apartments that are available for rent or purchase.
Some of our favorite tried-and-true choices are gathered here. But first, a piece of advice: Try all the available tools because no site, just like no broker, will have all the rentals that are available.
These Are The Best Apps To Find An Apartment In New York City
Naked Apartments
The most helpful aspects on this site are the plainly structured listings and the choice to receive daily e-mail notifications for listings that match one’s search criteria. It also gives broker reviews and the ability to search by fee or no fee apartments. A potential tenant can also speak with the brokers and landlords who are listing specific properties in an anonymous manner.
StreetEasy
The most well-known listings aggregator in NYC, StreetEasy, keeps track of both sales and rents. StreetEasy’s wide range of search options, which let users filter results by location, amenities, square footage, the presence of a broker’s charge, and a ton of other factors, contributed in part to its success.
Localize.city
In addition to showing apartments that are for sale or rent, Localize also offers details about the communities’ quality of life, such as whether the area is bike-friendly or close to a dog park, how quiet it is, and more. Additionally, once you’ve located a location, you may search the address to learn more about neighboring transit alternatives, local schools, and other concerns.
Zumper
Apartment seekers may easily search by neighborhood, price range, number of bedrooms, and amenities using Zumper’s user-friendly interface. Its design makes it simple to book a tour, view the newest listings, and find flats without broker fees. The website also tracks rent trends throughout the city and offers simple-to-read neighborhood statistics.
Renthop
Users of Renthop can communicate directly with listing agents and instantly see when new spaces are available. Additionally, each apartment has a “HopScore” that is based on criteria the website claims demonstrate the quality of a listing, such as the age of the listing or the standing of the landlord or management.
Triplemint
For its rental listings, Triplemint takes emphasis in providing “pre-market access” and “custom service.” The problem is that many postings will require you to join up before you can access additional data about the property. The website offers a map that shows you how many listings are available inside New York’s various areas.
HotPads
Everything from inexpensive rooms for rent to apartments for lease in brand-new rental developments can be found here. The website is rather simple and does a decent job of maintaining a regular flow of new items while immediately eliminating those that are no longer accessible. Additionally, you can look for a wide range of housing options, such as sublets and apartments with income restrictions.
Pad Mapper
This listings site is structured around a map of the five boroughs, as the name suggests, which makes it simpler if you’re looking for an apartment in a specific area. Other than that, the search options are comparable to those on other websites; you may browse for homes by price, amount of bedrooms, etc., but you can also find short-term rentals.
Roomi
Roomi is the app for you if you’re seeking for a flexible rental situation: Users have the option of signing shorter-term leases and are not compelled to do so. Background checks and an in-app payment option are just two of the numerous safety features that are included into the app for both the renter and the person looking for a roommate. Based on the amount of months you’re interested in renting, the area, the price, and other factors, you can focus your search.
Listings Project
Artist Stephanie Diamond started the Listings project in 2003 as an email service in which she published details on listings she’d received from friends and other contacts in a weekly email blast. The idea has mostly remained the same nearly two decades later: You continue to receive the email in your inbox every Wednesday, and there is also a website where you may look for postings. The team still corresponds personally by email with each person interested in selling their flat; this helps weed out managers and brokers and puts renters in touch with those who are actually looking to rent.
