Is the Home Rental Market in New York City Getting Better for Low-Income Earners?

Here are this week's most desirable places to rent from MSN real estate, but it's not exactly the most affordable.

Some of the most expensive rental homes, according to MSN, are right in the Big Apple like the $45,000-a-month penthouse located in Union Square's Oculus Condominium. The 3,000 square-foot space has three bedrooms and three baths with an outdoor terrace that adds an additional 3,000-square-feet. It offers a fine view of Chelsea, Greenwich Village and the Flatiron District.

Another penthouse offers the same rent but is a historical site, located on the Upper East Side's Studio Building and comes with his-and-hers baths for the master suite. It packs four bedrooms, and five bathrooms and a regal sound and entertainment system.

But if you make a small turn from these larger-than-life landmark locations meant for kings and queens, you'll be happy to hear that The Wall Street Journal found rents have been falling in the last three months in New York City most likely due to an invasion of young, low-income earners like artists and designers.

High rollers from the financial services have not seen much growth in the job sector as of late, and so those willing to live in the City are pushing the home rental market on the cheap side and making it more affordable. Not affordable enough for that penthouse on the Upper East though if you're still wondering.

"Lower wages are contributing to lower rental growth," said Nancy Packes, a real estate marketing consultant in a report on SteetEasy.com and On-Site.com. "The highly compensated finance sector is losing market share to the technology and creative industries."

Citi Habitats conducted a survey, reported The Wall Street Journal, that found Manhattan rents fell the past five months from $3, 461 in August last year to $3,211 in January this year.

Generallly, job growth leads to more pocket gain for rents, but in this case Packes found the rents didn't rise. That's because 60 percent of the new renters in 2006 were big-income earners, now they only take up 40 percent, whereas creative fields and technology workers doubled the rental pool.

So this trend is expected to continue in the future. Here's some more advice from Packes' in a recent interview on StreetEasy.com about renting in New York City.