New York City has been ranked as the country’s most “livable” city for people under 35, surpassing 100 of the most populous cities in the country, according to Vocativ’s 2014 “Livability Index.” The city stole the trophy from last year’s holder: Portland.

  Image via Wikimedia Commons

According to the latest Elliman report, compared to last month in June, prices seem to be decreasing. Don’t get too excited just yet though, because although there was a slight decrease between these past two months, July’s overall rents are the highest they have been in the past six consecutive Julys.

Low inventory rates and high demand are the current reality of New York City's apartment rental market. The Big Apple is one of the world's most competitive places in which to find housing, but finding your dream rental is not impossible. The following are four tips to help you maximize your rental experience.

Courtesy of: Anthony Quintano/ Flickr Apparently, warmer weather coupled with high consumer demand this past June contributed to higher rental prices in New York City. The latest Elliman report shows that the median rental price for Manhattan rose to $3,300 - a 3.3% increase from the same month last year and the highest it has been in more than 5 years. The June vacancy level fell to 1.64% from last period's 1.83%, and is the lowest June level in the 5 years the metric has been tracked.

President of the Rent Stabilization Association: Joseph Strasburg  The Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) will be making a highly debated decision next week in regards to a percentile increase of rent stabilized apartments. Although this vote takes place every year, this year’s decision has been exceptionally publicized due to a potential rent freeze. Bill de Blasio, the first mayor to ever run on the platform of a rent freeze, may come through on his promise—considering that over half the board has been given a seat via his appointment. Although the board favors implementation of the first rent freeze in NYC history, the Rent Stabilization Association (RSA) has other ideas.

Mayor de Blasio has so far stayed in consistency with his plan to create more affordable housing here in NYC. One method of making NYC a more affordable city would be pursuing a renters’ freeze of regulated rents. The Rent Guidelines Board, which is comprised of nine people, had five seats on this board that were recently up for re-appointment or new appointments in March. De Blasio had finally filled these five of the nine seats. The other four seats left for re/new-appointment will be filled in December 2014.

New York City renters are hoping that Mayor de Blasio will follow through with his campaign promise of a renting freeze. The NYC Mayor will be appointing the nine members that make up the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB). This board decides how much regulated rents will increase per year.