As students return to New York City for the fall semester, those wishing to live off-campus are diving into a competitive rental market. “Since a lot more people are working from home, they want to upgrade,” Modern Spaces agent and St. John’s University undergrad Samantha Karaisaridis told the New York Post. “They are outbidding the college students.” Thanks to landlords jumping in the market with both feet and current city residents looking to trade their apartment for one with lower rates than the locked-in prepandemic rates, firms like Modern Spaces are becoming ever more important for people in search of rentals and condos in LIC and Manhattan.