My Blog, Your Money

With the housing market bottom appearing to be in sight, many people who were waiting on the sidelines to purchase a home are reentering the market and looking to buy.  With rates at historic lows and prices still majorly depressed, now just might be a good time to buy.  However, that doesn’t mean everyone should run out and start attending open houses.  You should consider your own individual factors including the amount of loans you would need, the mortgage rate, property taxes in your area, and expected appreciation in value of the home.  In many cases, renting might be more compelling.  I know that might go against conventional wisdom, but this was true even when the housing market was booming.

Here’s a handy-dandy calculator provided by The New York Times that compares the renting vs. buying scenarios.  The page also features a chart showing the average annual savings at the end of each year of owning or renting.  As for my results, renting is still a better option, but buying has gained a lot of ground.  If you’d like to get another opinion, there are a ton of other calculators out there, just do a search.  Here’s another resource by Ramit Sethi of I Will Teach You To Be Rich discussing housing: My friend was about to buy a million-dollar house with no research.