Apartment rentals stabilized in Manhattan as the average size of apartments rented fell in the second quarter of 2010, according to a report issued today by Miller Samuel Inc., for Prudential Douglas Elliman.

"The second quarter average rental price of a Manhattan apartment fell 3.3 percent to $3,710 per month from $3,838 in the same period last year," the study found, adding that "the decline was largely caused by the drop in the average size of a rental apartment to 898 square feet from 1,043 square feet over the same period." "As a result," it continued, "rental price per square foot increased 12.3 percent to $49.60 from $44.16 reflecting the higher price per square foot skew seen in smaller apartments."

At the same time, "the discount between original rental list price and contract rental price fell to 1.8 percent, the lowest since the 'Lehman tipping point' in 2008 as rental inventory fell sharply," it said, adding that "there were 4,972 listings available for rent, 31.8 percent below the 7,290 units in the same period last year."

"The number of rentals more than doubled to 5,659 in the second quarter from 2,346 in the same period last year with studios showing the largest year over year increase. Days on market fell to 53 days, 30 days faster than the prior year quarter," the report maintained.

The report said that at the end of the second Quarter, the average rental price for studio apartments was $2,268, $3,159 for one-bedroom units, $4,945 for two-bedroom units, $8,024 for three-bedroom units, and $10,290 for larger units.

The average rental price for an apartment on the East Side was $4,051, according to the report, compared to $3,639 for the West Side, $3,570 for downtown, and $1,956 for uptown.

According to a report published today by Citi Habitats, the Manhattan rental market has shown "considerable and consistent improvement" in the first half of 2010 and "demand has increased, and average rents continue to climb slowly, but surely."

"With shrinking inventory, and the vacancy rate at the lowest it's been in nearly three years, the timing is right for new rental projects," Gary Malin, the president of Citi Habitats, declared, adding that "as the market strengthens, owner-paid concessions are becoming a thing of the past."

The report said that the average number of available apartments in Manhattan in June was 9,125 and that the rental "vacancy rate" had declined to 0.90 percent.

It found that the average rent in June for one-bedroom apartments in Manhattan was $2,500. Average rents for one-bedroom apartments in June for new development buildings with doormen was $3,613 as compared to $3,252 for older doorman buildings, $2,626 for non-doorman buildings with elevators, and $2,198 for non-doorman, walk-up buildings.

In the Wall Street and Battery Park City area the average one-bedroom rent in June was $3,398 compared to $3,367 in the West Village, $3,140 in Chelsea, $3,131 in Gramercy and Flatiron, $3,101 in SoHo and TriBeCa, $2,515 in Midtown West, $2,501 on the Upper West Side, $2,458 in Midtown East, $2,375 in Murray Hill, $2,374 on the Upper East Side, $2,329 in the East Village, $2,062 in the Lower East Side, $1,931 in Morningside Heights, $1,526 in Harlem, and $1,294 in Washington Heights.