Manhattan rental prices fall, but deals still hard to find

NEW YORK - It might seem like finding an apartment in New York City at a decent price is an impossibility, but one real estate company says there are deals to be had if you know where to look. 

According to StreetEasy, you can get some discounts on rental apartments in Manhattan in Nolita, the Flatiron District, Chelsea and the East Village.  And if you're looking for the best deal, Greenpoint, Brooklyn is actually the neighborhood where you are most likely to get a break.

"What we are seeing is that the share of rentals offering discounts on asking rents is going up," said Kenny Lee, an Economist with StreetEasy.

StreetEasy says those five neighborhoods are where the greatest number of apartments have lower rent prices since listing the apartments on the realtor's website.

"One in 5 rental listings that were on the market in January offered discounts.  Also, 15% of listings offer at least 1 month of free rent in Manhattan and that's a bit of improvement from last year," Lee said.

Despite some rental discounts, StreetEasy says the current median one-bedroom rental is about four thousand dollars.

According to a recent report, New Yorkers are the highest rent burden in the United States, with most renters paying, on average, more than 30% of their income in rent.

A Zumper national rent report still ranks New York City as the nation's most expensive rental city, easily besting San Francisco, Boston, Jersey City and Miami.