Santa Claus is coming early for apartment hunters.

With fewer corporations bringing in recruits, and jittery young execs moving back in with Mama, there’s not only more elbow room in Manhattan – it’s become a lot cheaper.

“There’s not a building in Manhattan from Bowling Green to Carnegie Hill that hasn’t experienced a drop in rental prices,” said Brian Edwards, who heads the Halstead Feathered Nest rental division.

For the first time in a decade, rents are dropping faster than a down elevator.

“Even at $800, an apartment doesn’t rent in a day anymore,” said Dan Margulies, head of the Community Housing Improvement Program, a building owners’ group.

Apartments costing more than $1,000 often take a few weeks to rent, Margulies said. Earlier this year, there would have been a waiting list before they were vacant.

There is also good news for those whose leases are expiring. They can negotiate new leases lowering their rent or getting a lot more for their current rent.

“If they rented at the peak of the market, they can get a 20 percent savings in certain cases,” said Yuval Greenblatt, who heads the rental division of Insignia Douglas Elliman.

One-bedrooms in doorman buildings that a year ago fetched $2,800 to $2,900 can now be had for $2,500 to $2,300. In better buildings, apartments that were once $4,000 are now renting in the high $2,000s.

“When they do get it to the right price, there are people ready to scoop up apartments,” said Greenblatt.

On West End Avenue in the 80s, Edwards said, a high-floor, two-bedroom apartment with a balcony was listed in August for $4,900 a month. On Nov. 1, it finally rented for $3,995.

A four-bedroom triplex in a townhouse in the West 80s, a block from Central Park, was listed in June for $17,500. In November, 10 days after it was listed by Halstead Feathered Nest for 20 percent less, it rented for $13,000.

This year, rents had already declined 10 percent before Sept. 11.

“It was a stone rolling down the hill – it just got kicked,” Edwards said.

Downtown, there is even more value for those not shell-shocked by the terror attacks.

In Battery Park City, the Liberty Residences are advertising: “Prices slashed, rent now at 1980s prices.” There, two-bedroom units start at $2,250. A few blocks northeast and a bit farther from ground zero, at 95 Worth St., the Saranac is advertising a one-bedroom for $2,295.

In the West 50s between Central Park and Times Square, Elissa Slan of Insignia Douglas Elliman has a “gorgeous killer penthouse” with 2,200 square feet, two bedrooms and outdoor space. It had been previously rented for $8,800, and is now yours for $6,800.

In what one owner calls “the 1961-vintage Boeing white elephants” – the white brick buildings that popped up in the 60s – there has been a decline in rent of 10 percent or 15 percent, regardless of the size.

In the West 50s, the tab for a three-bedroom spread was cut from $5,200 to $3,700.

With bankers looking over their towers, some apartment-house developers can’t reduce monthly rents. Instead, they are paying broker fees and giving new residents a month or two of free rent.

While building owners reacted quickly to keep their apartments occupied, individual owners who rent out co-ops and condos were slower to react, say brokers.

But with maintenance, mortgages and real estate taxes to pay, these unit owners can’t afford to hold out.

A 1,400-square-foot penthouse with a fireplace and terrace on 57th Street between Eighth and Ninth avenues was originally listed on Sept. 10 at $5,700.

“The individual got very nervous very quickly, lowered it to $4,000, and it was snapped up,” said Greenblatt.

The owner has cause to be grateful.

“The guy who rented it had a meeting and postponed his flight on 587,” said broker Sigal Kedmi, the IDE agent who listed the apartment.

In the last month, more New Yorkers have decided to give up trying to buy apartments and instead, rented super-luxury units where rents top $10,000.

“The apartments were gobbled up,” said Melissa Green of the Continuum Co., which rented units at 52 Park Ave. to folks who decided to put ownership on hold.

Some of these apartment seekers have cashed out of their multimillion-dollar units while others are displaced Trade Center victims who can’t get back into their homes.

After being listed for three weeks in early November, more than 30 prospective tenants suddenly walked through two pre-war classics – three-bedrooms, formal dining room and maid’s room in the East 60s near Central Park.

They are both now rented for $12,500 and $16,000, said Stephen Kotler, of IDE.

“Apartments that are overpriced are coming down to realistic levels,” Kotler said. “Apartments priced right are renting within earshot.”

Studios in upper Manhattan are still holding at around $700, a one-bedroom can be had for $900, two-bedrooms rent for $1,300 and three-bedrooms from $1,600 to $1,700.