While eager-to-spend American consumers have more debt now than ever before, most will likely be able to keep up with payments, according to a Standard & Poor’s report released Oct. 24. By the second quarter of 2006, average household debt reached a record at 134 percent of after-tax income, the highest portion of which (76 percent) is mortgage debt. But this don’t mean squat to renters here in Manhattan. Vacancy rates are predicted to drop even as landlords radically raise rental rates, finds Marcus & Millichap’s Apartment Research quarterly report. Meaning, it will be harder to locate an available apartment, and when you do, it will cost you more to get into it. By year’s end, the average asking rent is expected to be around $3,412 per month, with effective rents around $3,323 per month. This so-called landlord market is expected to continue for the next two years. Conclusion? Borrow oodles of dough—you’ll need it and, quite possibly, you’ll be able to pay it back.