New York, NY. January 20, 2008— The Real Estate Group’s 2008 Year End Rental Market Report, released today, illustrates the ups and downs that Manhattan’s rental market saw this year.

In year-over-year comparisons, rents were down on all unit sizes and service levels, with the exception of non-doorman studios, which remained relatively flat. The largest changes were in doorman studio units, which fell 2.24% on average.

Looking over the course of 2008, units were down significantly by December, with the exception of doorman two-bedroom units. Doorman studios saw a drop of 7.38%, non-doorman one-bedroom and non-doorman two-bedrooms saw drops of 5.46% and 5.58% respectively.

“We began 2008 hopeful that Manhattan would buck the trends, but the Wall Street collapse eventually brought reality to bear in the rental market. Thus, Manhattan, a market that was at one time particularly favorable to owners and landlords, became an unquestionable renters’ market in a fairly short period of time,” says Daniel Baum, COO of The Real Estate Group. “Realistically speaking, 2009 looks like it will be a continuation of the downward pressure we have already felt in the fourth quarter of 2008.”

The Real Estate Group’s Manhattan Rental Market Report derives its data from over 10,000 available apartment listings in four major real estate databases. It is the only report that compares changes in the city’s rental prices on a month-to-month basis. The report categorizes apartments by neighborhood, service level (doorman vs. non-doorman) and size, omitting ultra-luxury property to obtain a true monthly average.

The Manhattan Rental Market Year End 2008 report can be viewed at http://www.tregny.com/content/rental_market_reports/year-end-manhattan-rental-market-report-2008