EVEN though sales of pricey, high-end apartments tend to get the most attention, New York at its core is a city of renters.

About 75 percent of Manhattan dwellers write monthly checks to the landlord. While it can sound odd to talk about the advantages of renting in a city that is prohibitively expensive for most Americans, there are benefits.

Renters don’t have to lay down massive deposits, suffer the headache of dealing with condo and co-op boards, or pay taxes, common charges and big repair bills after signing away their savings.

Most of us have no choice but to rent, given the hefty deposits required. But in the world of high-end real estate, there are some renters who clearly can afford to buy multimillion-dollar residences but choose to rent instead. They’re a small segment of the market, these “super renters.” Or, given some of the new rental properties — including the penthouses at New York by Gehry at 8 Spruce Street — perhaps it’s better to call them “sky-high renters.”