The $678 apartment rent takes a big chunk out of the family's budget.

A two-bedroom apartment rents for about $750 to $850 a month.

On average, a typical 2-bedroom, 1,000-square-foot apartment rents for $2,000 a month.

Others take refuge from the city's heat in country houses they can afford because their apartment rents are so low.

Under new laws passed in 1997, more than 3,000 apartment rents have been deregulated.

For the first time since the early 1970's, the state laws that regulate apartment rents are in serious jeopardy.

"That means the consumer wil have to pay higher prices for apartment rent and office space."

While the bust has helped put an ease on the city's apartment rents, the city remains expensive.

Apartment rents and prices are rising steeply, especially in large cities.

His most recent Manhattan survey shows that the average new one-bedroom apartment rents for $1,475 a month.