Dude, move out to NJ and get a roommate for a year or two. Hell, for $800 you could get one bedroom in a beautiful 2BR, 2 bath in Summit, NJ or even in Jersey City. NYC is still going insane. There was just a piece in a local paper about stores in the UWS closing because their rents are going from $15K to $60K in one shot, how sick is that? It's becoming a place for only the rich. The taxes are going to have to increase dramatically, and Bloomberg is already hinting at it. I agree with Oldtrader and EMRGLOBAL, real estate is along way from a bottom, and a really long way in NYC. But I would rent for now, buying anywhere now is a BIG mistake, IMO.