Financial District apartment rents drop

Apartment asking rents in the Financial District have fallen by an
average of 5 percent since November, compared to a citywide decline of
1 percent, according to The Real Estate Group’s December Manhattan
Rental Market Report. Doorman studio and one-bedrooms in the
neighborhood fell by 16 and 11 percent, respectively. Landlords in the
Financial District had already been offering incentives such as a
month’s free rent. The credit crunch and concerns about job security in
the financial services sector were blamed for worsening the usual
year-end slowdown. TRD