There hasn't been a year like 2007 for Manhattan real estate in a long time. And there probably won't be one like it for just as long. It saw a confluence of conflicting trends and market events that were enough to make the most brilliant economists' heads swoon.

I would imagine that at some point soon, the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve will start receiving thank-you notes from New York City realtors: The falling dollar has made New York apartments an incredible value for those that earn their salaries in currencies other than the US dollar.

For a good number of years now, renters of NYC apartments have had the extreme displeasure of paying the highest rents in the country. A new report suggests that the city is entering 2008 with a continuing hold on the unfortunate and smudged crown which signifies its role as the most expensive city for renters in the country.