In places like the Bay area and Manhattan, it is not atypical to see rents of 4-5K for a 3 bedroom apartment. My personal experience (n=1) indicates that many o

In places like the Bay area and Manhattan, it is not atypical to see rents of 4-5K for a 3 bedroom apartment. My personal experience (n=1) indicates that many of these places are inhabited by young adults (single or childless couples) who accept roommates as the only way to survive in these expensive areas. I don't consider this type of expensive real-estate luxury (despite the price tag). If you go to the middle of the USA or the southern states, you'll find luxury apartments/houses with all the mainstays (as the article put it) - large master bedrooms, home theatres, etc. The people buying these make a lot less than 300K I can tell you that (80-100K income will get you there and the home price would be 400-500K).