Recession: I'm lovin' it!

So when Charlie Gaeta found a place almost twice as big as his current apartment, but with with a back yard and in the same tony Brooklyn neighborhood, he was pretty psyched. Plus, it was just $50 more a month than the $2100 he had been paying.

Then his old landlord enticed him to move out, hoping to take advantage of cheap renovation prices in the downturn, by offering to give him his last two months in the apartment for free.

"I jumped at it," said the 32-year old car salesman.

But the best part of falling rents and home prices in New York City: It justified his decision to not buy a place at the height of the market.

"If I'd have listened to Suze Orman, I'd have bought a home two years ago," he said. "And now I'd be underwater on my mortgage, no doubt."

NEXT: When life deals you lemons, make cheese