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Except for the warm fuzzy feeling of owning, I don't think I agree financially with that statement. Remember that same apartment, at $1500 to rent, might very well cost $3,000+ to own.
In the past go-go years, you could always count on fast capital appreciation but then the bubble went bust. Some say the bubble won't inflate again for decades. If not, then the comparison might be between the $1500 one bedroom vs. the $3500 one bedroom...same place.

If I had MANY MILLIONS I would not consider owning. I would rent for 6 months in Paris, then 6 months in Vienna, then 6 months in Wellington, then 6 months in Rio, then 6 months on cruise liner, etc. etc. Let others worry about who is breaking into their penthouses while they're gone and which neighbor is likely to infect their 5 million dollar penthouses with bedbugs.

But for now, with modest means, it seems the renter is in the more enviable financial position, even if it means putting up with idiot landlords...unless of course you can find the deal of a lifetime.

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And if I had the money I'd buy a Manhattan penthouse. If people are willing to pay it then people are willing to charge it. It seems that more people are able to accept the selling and renting price of these apartments which sets the pace of the so called market value and keeps others out of the loop. Paying over $1500 a month for rent is bizzare when you can own for less, do the math.

This just in: smaller, lower apartments are cheaper than larger penthouses. Film at 11.

if i had the money, i'd buy a canco loft in a heartbeat.

I love how she puts the word "luxury" in quotation marks.

Apartment Dwellers Settle for Less Than the Best


Michael Harris is happy with his condo at Canco Lofts even though the views are less than perfect.

New York Times
By ANTOINETTE MARTIN
Published: August 6, 2010

?I did not need a balcony,? said Foram Matalia, a renter at the new 225 Grand building in Jersey City. She also decided in advance that she could live without a sparkling view of the New York City skyline. But she knew she wanted a one-bedroom apartment in a classy new structure for herself and her husband


Foram Matalia gets a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty from her fifth-floor rental at 225 Grand.

Ms. Matalia said she looked at units ? in the same building, and elsewhere ? that were ?way expensive, like $2,200 a month.? But by remaining clear-eyed about what she could forgo, she said, and by bargaining for all she could get, she was able to rent a fifth-floor apartment for a little over $1,600 a month.

?The apartment doesn?t face the city,? she said, ?but we can see the Statue of Liberty out the living room window.?

Call it the ?less-than-fully-loaded? lifestyle, which seems to be spiking in popularity in this state where ominous rumblings from Trenton indicate the economy may be stuck in low gear for quite a while longer. People want to live in buildings with a good location and lots of amenities, but sometimes the only way to do it is to buy or rent the cheapest apartment in the building.

Michael Harris, who bought an 817-square-foot condominium with ?less-than-the-best? views, as he said, at Canco Lofts in Jersey City a few months ago, feels entirely at home with the compromise he made.

?I see part of another building out the window, and the mountains of western New Jersey, instead of New York,? Mr. Harris said. ?After I decided I wanted to live here, because of the amenities and the location, I looked at half a dozen units in my price range. Some were smaller than this one, and some had more light. But I decided I could happily trade off for the space.?

Jacqueline Urgo, the president of the Marketing Directors in Manhattan, which is handling leasing or sales for about a dozen newer ?luxury? buildings in northern New Jersey, said increasing numbers of people are finding brand-new units affordable with the price breaks and other enticements being offered. (Mr. Harris said his closing costs were paid by the Canco developer.)

?But still, just getting in the building might be a stretch for someone?s budget,? Ms. Urgo said. ?If they are stretching to be in a luxury building with lounge, pool, fitness center, etc., then they know they need to take the least expensive bite of the apple.?

Some people take advantage of their own offbeat hours or predilections to get lower price points, she noted. (?Vampire? buyers, as brokers sometimes refer to people who work at night, do not reap the same benefits from huge windows and exceptional views, and may leap at inside units with smaller price tags, Ms. Urgo and other marketers say.)

Others just focus on the idea of getting in on the ground floor ? yes, sometimes literally ? at a new building they think will be ?hot,? Ms. Urgo said. ?They think, maybe we can upgrade later within the building,? she added.

Jodi Stasse, the president of Stasse and Company, which is marketing Canco as well as the Trump Plaza Residences condominium tower in Jersey City, said: ?Everybody who walks in the door either place wants to live in the best unit. It?s the first thing they want to see, even if they know beforehand they can?t afford it.?

People like to get a sense of all the possibilities, she said. ?If they fall in love with the Canco amenities, the look, the feel of the neighborhood inside the building,? which has a full-time concierge, a 24-hour gym, a free shuttle to the nearby PATH station, and extra-tall ceilings in every unit (starting at 14 feet), Ms. Stasse said they often become realistic about not having a penthouse, or as much space as they desire.

At Canco, a converted factory complex (it was the American Can Company headquarters), most apartments are quite large, but some studios and one-bedrooms have only around 600 square feet. All the windows are supersized ? 11 feet tall or more ? but some units have only two windows and partially obstructed views.

Irfan Ozaltine, who with his wife recently bought a 900-square-foot studio there, said his unit currently looks out over a parking lot. ?But we are hoping for the future,? Mr. Ozaltine said, ?because Canco has a plan to put a park there.?

Will Herbert, a stock trader, stayed put for six years at the Vanguard building of the Shipyard complex in Hoboken because he savored the amenities ? especially the ?30-second? walk to the ferry station, he says ? and because he had received a good deal on an apartment facing the street that offered little privacy unless the blinds were closed.

Mr. Herbert said he discovered recently that he is still willing to compromise to live at the Shipyard, though differently. A couple of months ago, he moved to a newly completed rental building there, the Berkshire.

?My new apartment now is actually slightly smaller,? Mr. Herbert said, ?and it costs $250 a month more. But it?s on a corner, with a lot more light. After all those years, that was my new priority.?