The rental market has gone wild.

Manhattan’s average rent hit $6,655 a month in July, an all-time high and up 10% in the past year, with two-bedrooms now averaging over $8,000. Brooklyn’s median jumped 17% to $4,500, also a record. And the citywide vacancy rate sits at 1.49%, the lowest since 1968.

Across the city, I’m seeing bidding wars break out, with multiple applications above asking price inside the first 24 hours, and that includes rentals asking upwards of $30,000 a month. For anyone navigating this rental market right now, make sure to hire a proactive broker you trust and steel yourself for battle.

Here is my prediction: the rental madness starts putting upward pressure on sales prices in the fall. New York City continues to be supply-constrained and at these rents it is very quickly becoming possible to own your home for a total monthly outlay that beats renting, even at current interest rates. Once enough renters run that math, they become buyers. If you would like help running through the numbers on a place you love, reply and we will go through it together.

This week’s Top Ten runs from a triple-mint 1846 Greek Revival in Brooklyn Heights to a brand-new two bedroom on Prospect Park’s doorstep at $975K, which is that rent-versus-buy math making itself obvious. In between: a Billionaires’ Row penthouse, a full-floor SoHo loft, and a Greenpoint townhouse with its own backyard pool. Five are in Manhattan and five in Brooklyn. If one pulls at you, reply and we’ll set up a private tour for next week.