Renting an apartment in New York City is definitely not easy, or cheap. In fact, up until recently, New York apartments were considered the most difficult to rent by Marcus & Millichap's National Apartment Index, which evaluates the 43 most populous rental markets. Surprisingly, though, a mild uptick in vacancy rates in New York apartments in 2007 has pushed the city down to the number three spot in the index. Currently, both San Francisco and Seattle are considered tougher places to get apartments by the good people at Marcus & Millichap.
There's one aspect of renting an apartment that New York City still holds the crown in: luxury apartments. The city offers more luxury apartments – both total and per capita – than any other major city in the country. The nation's financial.