A crowd gathers in front of an open house for a rental unit in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on Feb. 11.

A crowd gathers in front of an open house for a rental unit in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on Feb. 11.

Photographer: Bess Adler/Bloomberg

Real Estate

New York City Renters Are Lining Up to Fight Brutal Bidding Wars

Finding an apartment with extra space and amenities in NYC has become as competitive as buying a home.

Long lines in the cold, fierce competition and bidding wars.

This has become the reality for New Yorkers who are flooding the rental market in search of apartments, an increasingly scarce commodity less than two years after a pandemic-related exodus had some predicting the demise of the city.