Is it possible to successfully invest in a high demand market

[Ezekiel Cruz]

Hi. My name is Ezekiel (Zeke for short).  I am new to real estate investing, and I have been interested in real estate for several years now, but have been apprehensive due to New York City's high prices in real estate. I am wondering if anyone here has any experience or insights to share on getting started with with little or no money down in high demand areas for real estate. Most if not all of the great success stories I have read or heard on BP involve deals where people are buying properties for $30,000 to $150,000. The problem is that the homes (mostly multi families in NYC) being listed for sale in my area range from $700,000 to $1,000,000+, and even if I could find private money or hard money lenders to finance 70% to 80% of the deal that would leave me with having to put between $140,000 to $200,000+ from my end (money I obviously don't have). Are there any viable solutions for overcoming such problems, or should the more viable and realistic approach be to set my eyes on markets outside of New York City such as New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania?