For two years, Steve McGee and Dennis Kenney shared a “one-bedroom-plus” at Chelsea Landmark on West 25th Street, with nearly 900 square feet that included a dining room and an extra half bathroom. The monthly rent climbed into the high $6,000s.

Mr. McGee, who came to New York from the Midwest for work, totted up the amount he had spent on rent in his seven years in the city. It was in the vicinity of $500,000.

“I did not want to keep putting my money in the hands of a landlord instead of contributing to something I would own,” said Mr. McGee, 50, an executive whose office is in Union, N.J. “I could be well on the way to having a nice amount of equity.”

Mr. Kenney, 41, who is from Boston and spent years moving among New York rentals, was especially eager to set down roots. A few years ago, he found himself teaching performing arts on the Gulf Coast of Florida and planning to buy a home there. That’s where he met Mr. McGee, returning with him to the city.