Even in New York, Affordable Apartments

THE national median home price right now is $224,500. But finding anything even close to that in New York — where the average sale price for a Manhattan apartment hovers just above $1.3 million — would be like snagging a seat on a downtown No. 6 train at the height of rush hour. Or would it? In the current market, staying in Manhattan for $200,000 or less would be a definite challenge. But for those willing to venture beyond, there are neighborhoods in Queens, the Bronx and Brooklyn, all near subway lines, where one-bedroom co-ops can be had for less than $200,000 and studios can be bought for less than $150,000.