It was bound to happen sooner or later.

The real estate bust of 2008 is finally having an impact on one of the last hold outs, New York City.

Manhattan, in particular, seemed all but immune to the current subprime mortgage mess mostly because foreign buyers were able to take advantage of the declining value of the U.S. dollar.

But, now, even that bubble has apparently burst.

The Real Estate Group in New York reports that rents in Manhattan decreased last month by more than 7 percent.

The last time rents actually went down in Manhattan, George Washington was president!

Part of the reason, no doubt, is that, even in New York, there is somewhat less demand for expensive condos and co-ops leaving many to the rental market. That translates into lower prices.

According to Multi-Housing News, there are some who believe the situation in New York will now worsen..a lot.

It quotes James Hughes , dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University as saying that housing “might be twice as bad as the period after the 1980s real estate bubble.

One bright spot here…according to Huges, those who held on to their real estate property throughout the last bust and subsequent upswing saw their houses, on average, double in value.

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Tags: manhattan, new york city, real estate, rental, rutgers university