You can buy for 10% down, 5% down, even 0% down. And for fixed interest rate or variable. So assuming sufficient income and decent credit you could buy a $350K condo for $17.5K (5%) down plus closing costs. Consult a mortgage broker, preferably a few, to learn what you can do. [Edit: But please think really hard before using a variable right now, or anything with a low initial "teaser" rate.]
Of course, can do isn't necessarily the same as should do. Coastal cities in the US (NYC LAX SFO BOS etc) tend to have up and down cycles in home prices. Over the long term homes go up in value, but you buy right at the top of a cycle, you are likely to see prices go down, then sit flat (maybe for years), before starting to go rise again. If you're going to stay there for 10 years, then even if you buy at the top, the house will very likely be worth more at the end of that time. If you're going to stay 5 years, might be more like break-even. If you have to sell in 2 years (change job, lose job, outgrow house, etc) then you'll likely lose money.
So you should figure out where NYC is in its real estate cycle. Realtors won't always (usually won't?) tell you the truth, and on forums like this you'll get conflicting opinions. I have my opinion, but since I live on the West Coast you shouldn't listen to me. Some suggestions:
- Look at years of local home price data, e.g. download from
http://www.ofheo.gov/HPI.asp and chart it in Excel.
- Use
www.zillow.com plug in a house (not sure if they do condos, prob do), look at the chart of value over time.
- Find a broker's website where they post monthly info on the market, e.g. the monthly newsletter from the local real estate agents' association (here its called the RMLS letter) that gives the month's new listings, accepted offers, closed sales, days inventory, etc. Read enough months of these and figure out if things are accelerating, slowing, or what.
- Start monitoring local homes on brokers' websites,
www.realtor.com is one. Go to open houses. Figure out if prices are being reduced, if houses are selling at/under/over listing price, if sellers are pulling unsold houses off the market, if open houses are crowded or deserted.
- Basically, figure out what is happening in your area.
Use a rent vs buy calculator (maybe the one Wayne did? I haven't checked it out) to see if you're financially better off renting or buying. I'm okay with buying even if financially you're somewhat better off renting, because it is emotionally nice to be in your own home and you can benefit from the long-term investment. But if the math is grossly skewed toward renting, then buying means you're either paying a heck of a lot for emotional satisfaction, or betting on major price increases, and at least you can make that decision with your eyes wide open. Also, when renting is financially far better than buying, that is one indication that homes may be overvalued.
Note that home price movements have an exaggerated effect on your wealth because the home is a leveraged purchase. Say that to buy a $10 house, you invest $1 of your own money and $9 of borrowed money (mortgage). If the house value goes up +$1 or +10%, you made $1 on $1 of your own money, or +100% return. If the house goes down -$1 or -10%, you lost -$1 on $1 of your own money, or -100% return. (I'm leaving out the additional amount you invest every month, for simplicity.)
Also remember that you pay points and fees when buying, and brokers' commission plus fees when selling, and in between you pay lots of interest. So selling a house for 8% more than you paid two years earlier is kind of like breaking even.
Anyway, I'm not sure if this is what you were looking for, but just some random (and probably too basic) thoughts.
Come to think of it, there was a thread, started by Porsche-O-Phile a few weeks ago, where some people who are in the real estate business gave lots of tips, don't bother reading what I wrote (too late!) instead go find that one.
P.S. There are books on home buying too. Avoid the "get rich in real estate" sort.