I'm renting in Manhattan right now and this is absolutely the case for me. At the same monthly cost, I'd have to live farther out in a less desirable location. A lot of apartments cost more to own in monthly taxes and fees than my entire monthly rent cost when I first moved here (though admittedly I had roommates). Note, I'm not talking about a mortgage; that'd be way more. I'm just talking about coop fees. You can spend more on them buying an apartment than it costs to rent a bedroom in a shared apartment. And as people like to say about rent, that is also just "throwing money away".