Rental rates in New York dropped 3.7 percent in 2017 though most Bronx neighborhoods bucked the city-wide trend, with a few areas seeing double-digit increased like Highbridge (up 22 percent), Mott Haven (up 15 percent) and Woodstock Uup 15 percent). (Source: Zumper)

According to TOWN Residential, the best place for bargain hunting in the borough is the Upper West Side, which had the highest concentration of concessions (e.g. free rent or owner-paid incentives) at 15.3 percent.

Manhattan’s townhouse market has struggled in recent years. In 2016, there were 454 deals valued at $3.1 billion compared to 492 deals totaling $4.2 billion in 2015 (source: townhouse brokerage Leslie J. Garfield). And 2017 wasn’t much better — only 100 contracts signed for townhouses asking $4 million and up, representing an 11 percent drop from 2016 (Source: Olshan Realty).

But there might be a light at the end of the tunnel. The following record-setting deals ...

2018 is set to be a record year for construction in NYC, with spending expected to top $52.5 billion, exceeding the 2016 peak of $52.2 billion, according to the New York Building Congress. Building Congress also anticipates the three year outlook of the construction industry to be “white hot.”

In 2018, 15 million square feet of office space is slated for completion in Manhattan, while another 2 million square feet is coming in Brooklyn and Queens. Some of the biggest projects ...