Plunging retail rents in 14 of Manhattan’s 17 high profile shopping corridors are catching the attention of retailers, a new report has found.

Despite a gloomy outlook for malls across America, New York’s dense population and expendable incomes are keeping it in the forefront for new stores and locations, according to the new report from the Real Estate Board of New York.

Of course, it’s also because building owners are responding to vacancies with lower rents, flexible deal terms, build outs and concessions that were unheard of just a few years ago.

The vacancies and flexibility are expected to boost the interest local brokers will get from global retailers while in Las Vegas early this week for the International Council of Shopping Centers REcon that attracts 37,000 attendees from 58 countries.

“The broad based decline we observed in ground floor retail average asking rents is indicative of the challenges the national retail market is facing,” said John Banks, president of the Real Estate Board of New York which issued the report.

“Nevertheless, our advisory group remains optimistic as owners entertain more flexible lease terms, with notable trends and activity among food tenants and retailers opening fewer and/or smaller stores.”

On the positive side, the REBNY Spring 2017 Manhattan Retail Report found strong rent growth in both the Flatiron’s Fifth Avenue stretch between 14th and 23rd Streets, and along Broadway’s stretch downtown from Chambers Street to Battery Park.

Since spring 2016, interest by retailers has prompted average ground-floor asking rents to rise 18 percent to $456 per foot in the Flatiron District, while the Lower Broadway corridor increased 11 percent to $362 per foot. Still, the neighborhood’s Fifth Avenue corridor could see some lowering of asking rents as the number of storefronts available has risen from seven to 17 since last fall.

An 8-percent rent drop last fall to $755 per foot along Broadway in Soho between Houston and Broome Streets drew retailer interest, so rents rose again this spring to $812 per foot and are now just 1 percent less than the $824 per foot asked in the spring of 2016.

Things aren’t as bright on Broadway in the Flatiron, where rents fell 22 percent to $348 per foot, leaving just a handful of stores available.

The fanciest parts of Bleecker Street between Seventh Avenue and Hudson Street have fared the worst of all the Manhattan markets, as rents dropped 27 percent from $513 per foot to $373 per foot since last spring with nine vacancies.

Rents also dropped 18 percent in both Herald Square and now less-pricey Times Square to $734 and $1,930 per foot, respectively.

The asking rents along Fifth Avenue’s most expensive corridor between 49th and 57th Streets are just 2 percent lower at $3,324 per foot. But the range of rents there had been as high as $4,500 per foot last fall, and now runs to just $3,500 per foot; the lowest is now $3,000 per foot, up from $2,700 per foot last fall.

Tony Madison Avenue between 57th and 72nd Streets has 33 vacancies, causing asking rents to decline 12 percent to $1,446 per foot from $1,644 last spring when ,there were 34 stores on the market.

Third Avenue has also seen a leap in available stores to 34 from just 15 a year ago. But asking rents are down just 4 percent to $356 per foot. Keep in mind in that area rents now range from $85 per foot to $1,084 per foot versus a range of $185 to $550 last spring, as both lower and higher quality space has come to market and some owners have dropped rents to drum up interest in their spaces.

Similarly on the West Side, the Broadway corridor from 72nd to 86th streets has seen rents drop 12 percent since last spring to $315 per foot as the number of available stores rose from 16 to 21. On Columbus Avenue rents dropped 15 percent to $344 per foot as the number of stores increased from 8 to 14.

REBNY also notes that in smaller corridors with fewer stores available, retailers will expand to adjacent and less pricey blocks, just as they have in Soho. Prominent corners, the size of the space and those with several selling levels can also affect asking rents.

“This report is a recognition that rents are stabilizing,” said Robin Abrams of Lansco who is joining Eastern Consolidated in June.

Tenants are testing the market with pop-up stores, while others that were looking for several years are now ready to make a deal because it has less risk, she added. More on-line retailers are also seeking brick and mortar stores.

“The belief is now that both can coexist,” Abrams said.