The average Manhattan rent is now $5,246, according to the August report from Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel. That’s a 2.6% increase from $5,113 in July and 28.1% higher than the average Manhattan rent of $4,094 a year ago.

Median rents in the heart of New York City ticked down by $50 a month from July, to $4,100, but are 26% higher than the median $3,255 rent charged in August 2021.

Median and average rents in the most coveted borough of New York have been raging higher since February, with the median hitting $4,000 in May for the first time ever. In June, the average topped $5,000.

These eyebrow-raising prices are squeezing a whole new generation out of New York and making the city a place that is only affordable for the very well-to-do, an unfortunate trajectory that has long been predicted for the Big Apple.

Landlords began jacking up rents early this year after slashing them in 2021 to attract tenants when the COVID pandemic set in and crime and lawlessness began soaring in New York and other major U.S. cities.

As workers are increasingly abandoning working from home and resuming normal life in offices, demand for housing in New York has surged, and, along with it, rents. In addition, as mortgages have been climbing in lockstep with Federal Reserve rate hikes, many people are finding it more cost effective to rent rather than to own.

This has pushed inventory down to about one third of what it was a year ago, the New York Post reports. For instance, in May 2021, there were more than 35,000 apartments throughout New York’s five boroughs available for rent. This past May, there were less than 10,000 apartment listings on the rental market.