Lower East Side
The Lower East Side is an emerging downtown luxury corridor, where post-2010 boutique condominiums, Essex Crossing, and tenement-to-condo conversions sit within one of Manhattan's most historically layered neighborhoods.
What Lower East Side is selling for
Movement of the annual median — not adjusted for transaction mix. Which apartments happened to trade (size, floor, condition, line) moves these as much as value does; the sample behind each is shown beneath it.
Two markets, one neighborhood. Since 2016, Lower East Side condos are down 7% and co-ops down 18% on paper — but after inflation, −31% and −38.7% in real terms.
Movement of the annual median — not adjusted for transaction mix. Which apartments happened to trade (size, floor, condition, line) moves these as much as value does; the sample behind each is shown beneath it.
Method & coverage
Method. Condos are measured per square foot, co-ops per room (room counts from listing data; sales without a usable room count are excluded). The percentages are movement of the annual median — not a constant-quality or repeat-sale index — so transaction mix moves them as well as value. Real-terms figures deflate that same median by CPI.
Coverage. 1,656 recorded sales. Before the figures above, 14 non-arms-length transfers (nominal estate, gift, or intra-family deeds and mis-recorded bulk filings) and 3 duplicate records of the same deed (a combined apartment or penthouse recorded under more than one unit label) were removed. Corridors may overlap — a sale can appear in both a neighborhood set and a narrower avenue set. Recorded transfers via NYC Department of Finance, enriched by The Roebling Research Library.
Lower East Side rents
Lower East Side rents are up 4.7% in January–September 2026, against the same months of 2025. 2025 was +5.7%, 2024 +0.7%, 2023 +0.9%.
The same apartments, lease to lease, each year against the year before (2,166 lease-to-lease comparisons). 2026 compares January–September with January–September 2025. * Few repeat leases that year. The latest months can move as late-reported leases arrive.
| Size | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All sizes | $91178 leases+0.2% | $92176 leases+1.0% | $94177 leases+2.2% | $100123 leases+6.1% |
| Studio | $102*16 leases | $93*18 leases | $103*17 leases | $100*11 leases |
| 1 bedroom | $9491 leases | $9489 leases | $9592 leases | $10251 leases |
| 2 bedroom | $8969 leases | $9164 leases | $9165 leases | $9861 leases |
Median rent per square foot per year, from closed leases that report square footage. 2026 is January–September. * Fewer than 30 leases.
| Size | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All sizes | $1,07532 leases | $1,05036 leases | $1,188*23 leases | $1,500*13 leases |
| 1 bedroom | $1,100*20 leases | $1,025*22 leases | $1,142*10 leases | — |
| 2 bedroom | — | $1,087*12 leases | — | — |
Median monthly rent per room, co-op sublets. 2026 is January–September. * Fewer than 30 leases.
Compiled by The Roebling Team at Compass from closed leases, through September 2026. Figures are indicative, not an appraisal. The Roebling Index
At a glance
Neighborhood: The Lower East Side, below East Houston Street and east of the Bowery, running to the East River Adjacent neighborhoods: The East Village to the north, Two Bridges and Chinatown to the south and west, NoLita and Little Italy to the west Building stock: Mid-century cooperative housing near the river; tenement buildings, many converted; boutique condominiums from the 2000s onward; recent large-scale new development Profiles on this site: Condominiums and co-ops, each with its recorded sale history, tax position and Local Law exposure Source: The Roebling Team at Compass, from public records, building offering plans and our research library. October 2026.
Why the Lower East Side
The Lower East Side carries some of Manhattan's oldest residential fabric alongside some of its newest towers. Tenement blocks, mid-century cooperatives and recent condominium development sit within a few streets of each other, which gives buyers a wider spread of building types, and of price points, than most downtown neighborhoods.
The figures above this guide are the neighborhood's own. Sales are measured as the median condominium price per square foot and co-op price per room across the buildings placed on the Lower East Side, and rents as the same apartments leased again, year over year. Two Bridges, Chinatown and NoLita are counted on their own pages, not here.
The building stock
Mid-century cooperatives. Near the river stand large cooperative developments from the late 1940s and 1950s, including East River Housing at 572 Grand Street, 500 Grand Street and 453 FDR Drive. Board rules, financing limits and sublet terms vary by building and are set out on each profile.
Boutique condominiums. From the 2000s, smaller condominium buildings filled in sites across the neighborhood, among them Blue at 103 Norfolk Street and 154 Attorney Street. Older buildings converted to condominium, such as 20 Clinton Street, add to the mix.
New development. Recent large projects include One Manhattan Square at 252 South Street, One Essex Crossing at 202 Broome Street and 196 Orchard.
What to know if you're buying
Compare like with like. A new-development condominium and a 1950s co-op on the same side of Grand Street price on different terms: condominiums by the foot, co-ops by the room. Each building page carries its own recorded sales, which say more about a specific apartment than any neighborhood median.
In new development, read the offering plan and the tax position: any tax abatement, and when it ends, changes the real monthly cost. Each building page shows what we have on file.
The Roebling Team at Compass
We track every recorded sale and closed lease on the Lower East Side building by building. For a pricing opinion on a specific apartment, or a read on a building before you bid, get in touch.
Buildings on Lower East Side
Tell us what you are looking for and the Roebling Research Desk will send building matches across Lower East Side, with pricing and diligence on each.
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646.939.7375 · c.cohen@compass.com