But since those generous bonuses helped drive up apartment prices in past years, graduates with limited funds may actually benefit from the current weakness in the finance industry.

“It’s a great time to be a renter,” said Gary Malin, the president of Citi Habitats, which specializes in Manhattan rentals, but also has listings in Brooklyn and Queens. “The vacancy rate is higher than it has been, and rents are down across the board.”

In Manhattan, where the average rent for a studio is $1,774, many landlords are offering to pay brokers’ fees. Some are also throwing in a month or two of free rent. Rents in some buildings have dropped by 20 percent from last year. But prices in Harlem, Brooklyn and Queens  places where people priced out of many Manhattan neighborhoods have long gone for better value  have not decreased as much, Mr. Malin said.

The new arrivals can learn from the experiences of those who arrived a year or two ago, and have figured out how to navigate the rental market here, which can be bewildering to outsiders.

Image GOOD TIMING Miriam Goldberg, left, and Roseanne Baker, both teachers, renewed their $2,200 lease without a peep about an increase. Credit... Hiroko Masuike for The New York Times

Cailin McDuff and her two roommates, Katie Nagrotsky and Jessica Bolen, decided to share a three-bedroom apartment in Hamilton Heights, a historic section of Harlem roughly between 132nd and 153rd Streets west of St. Nicholas Avenue. All three are public school teachers in their first year with Teach for America; each makes an annual salary of about $45,000.

They split $2,195 in rent for three bedrooms and a living room large enough to have 20 of their closest friends over for a picnic dinner. Their apartment is a fifth-floor walk-up, but it has hardwood floors, exposed brick walls, an up-to-date kitchen with stainless-steel appliances, and what all three women refer to as their “pride and joy”  a combination washer/dryer in the renovated bathroom.