Manhattan rents down except for one-bedrooms 

The average rent for a studio, two- or three-bedroom apartment in Manhattan was down in the
first quarter, compared to the year before, according to a quarterly report
from brokerage Citi Habitats. Only the average rent for a one-bedroom home
increased. 

A three-bedroom apartment in Manhattan
had an average rent of $4,665 per month, a 7.6 percent fall from the opening
quarter of 2007. The average rent for a two-bedroom showed a smaller drop, down
4.9 percent to $3,648 per month over the same period. 

The average rent for a studio in Manhattan
fell 2.1 percent to $1,849 per month last quarter, from $1,890 per month in the
first quarter of 2007. 

The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment posted an increase of 3.7
percent to $2,608 per month in the first quarter of the year, compared to
$2,515 per month a year earlier. 

Meanwhile, the residential rental market’s vacancy rate reached 1.30 percent
in the first quarter, up from 1.13 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007 and
1.12 percent in the first quarter of 2007.