Back in the nineties -- remember those days? -- the market was easy to understand: All it did was go up. Now things are more complicated. September 11 and the recession produced some bargains in Battery Park City, of course, as well as in rentals. And if you've got, say, $10 million to throw around, you'll find an abundance of choices. But in most parts of the city, for every bargain there are two or three bargain hunters armed with Alan Greenspan -- assisted mortgage rates. Especially on the Upper West Side, where everybody seems to be looking to buy, and nobody to sell. If it's a one-bedroom you want, you'll find good value in Yorkville, east of Lex. Need a townhouse for a growing family? Murray Hill is the place. A loft? North Chelsea is still affordable. On the following pages, you'll find a road map to this confusing real-estate terrain, broken down by category, from studio apartment to townhouse, to target the best neighborhoods for what you need. And don't be dismayed by the lack of bargains -- it means people have confidence in the city again. Which is a good thing.

PHOTOGRAPHED BY ERIC MCNATT

From the March 11, 2002 issue of New York magazine.