Holy crapballs, Batman ... the crash is going to be painful when Tech Bubble 2.0 bursts... looks like they're at/above 2006 asking prices at least in some segments.

Asking Prices and Inventory for Homes in San Francisco California | Department of Numbers

Um, no. I've visited San Francisco, and it's a nice place to visit, but I could not justify paying that much for a box to sleep in and lock up my stuff while I go out and get more stuff. A rental property on my block went up for sale recently for well under $100k. I was tempted to buy it, kick out the tenants, and occupy it myself, but it lacks a garage. I will have a garage.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

I could and did in Manhattan -- however, SF seems to have become more expensive than NYC in the past year, which is scary for a US city. I'll also probably be shifting to a larger box in a less "nice" (but still (a) safe (b) in Manhattan) area in the next 6-12 months.

I'm not very familiar with Manhattan. From all I've heard, anything in Manhattan is scary expensive. Which parts are more/less expensive and what are the good and bad points of each?

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

(1) Co-ops are less expensive and much more common than condos. They're more restrictive as well.
(2) Uptown is less expensive than downtown as a rule
(3) Near Columbia University is relatively cheap by NYC standards, but still safe. You occasionally see two or three bedroom fixers between $250k-$350k, which is what I'm looking for
(4) HDFC housing (buildings that got subsidized loans from the city and tax breaks) is cheaper than normal, but has income restrictions (could be pretty high like $150-180k) upon initial purchase. Advantage is lower monthly condo charges/taxes. Disadvantage is that you have to sell to someone who meets the restrictions and generally pay a % of your profit upon sale to the building and/or the city. No big if you're planning to stay there for a while. HDFC buildings tend to be more common downtown in the Lower East Side/East Village.
(5) Parts of Inwood are still cheap and even attractive, but faaaaar from everything else.