buying apartment NYC

I've been investing for a down payment on my first apartment (hopefully in NYC Fidi, Upper East, Murray Hill, Soho) for a while now and have 15,000 saved... I'm still 19 so I should have time to get that number up to a sizable down payment (20%) by the time I finish a 2-3 year analysts stint and am around 24-25. Prior to that, I plan on renting with roommates mostly just for the social aspect... (I could definitely save more, but I enjoy some luxuries in life which my parents don't always cover)

Anyway, I have a very successful parent in PERE he/she keeps on telling me how low the Manhattan apartment market is going to go in 3-4 years once developers and banks really feel the squeeze of coronavirus and people start to move out of the city. (I think NYC population has been decreasing for a while now). Is he/she right? What do people think is going to happen to the 1 bedroom market there? If an apartment in one of the these neighborhoods costs 700,000 today.... Could it really be worth like 450,000-500,000 in 4 years?