These are the NYC apartments everyone was obsessing over in 2021

The housing market in NYC went through a lot in 2021—the pandemic took a bite out of sales and rental prices but they bounced back in the second half of the year.

With so much shifting, New Yorkers and those looking to move here were searching for deals with specific amenities in mind. 

StreetEasy, the online real estate marketplace, released its "Year in Search," a look at the most searched apartments, amenities, neighborhoods and more for 2021.

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The top most-saved rental listings were all listed for less than their respective neighborhoods' medians—

1. Fort Greene 2-Bedroom – listed for $2,000 less than the neighborhood’s median asking rent for 2 beds at $2,715 per month.
2. East Village 1-Bedroom  - listed for 13% less than the neighborhood's median asking rent for 1-bed apartments for $2,600 per month.
3. West Village 2-Bedroom – listed for 36% less than the neighborhood's median asking rent for 2 beds for $3,499 per month.

 

The most popular sales listings were also on deep discount and were mostly in midtown, likely because it was hit the hardest during lockdown—

1. Midtown 1-Bedroom - This unit’s asking price is 92% less than the Midtown median, but is also in a land-lease building, meaning it has much higher maintenance fees, at $173,000!
2. Sutton Place 2-Bedroom - sold for 57% less than the median asking price in Midtown East at $385,000.
3. Lenox Hill 1-Bedroom – listed for 75% less than the median asking price in the UES at $427,500.

A lot of these listings had the top amenities searchers on StreetEasy wanted—an in-unit washer/dryer (included in 35% of searches); pets allowed (included in 30% of searches); and a dishwasher (included in 24% of searches).

New Yorkers are also craving more space, according to StreetEasy. Two-bedroom apartments had 28% more search traffic on the site than they did in 2020.

Most StreetEasy users looked to listings three neighborhoods the most—Williamsburg claimed the top spot this year and in 2020; the Upper West Side is the second most-searched nabe for the second year in a row; and the West Village, which claimed #3 for the first time. Last year, it was the Upper East Side.