If property taxes keep creeping up renting will be the only way to go. In some areas property tax is in excess of 12000.00 a year for a 1800 sf home this is a 1000 dollars a month just for tax and not including maint, and upkeep

I currently rent. With my income from disability (which I am very grateful for), I wouldn't be able to afford to buy a home, especially here in Oregon where houses are still expensive due to all of the California money that flowed up here during the boom years. I have an excellent landlord who takes care of everything and allows my wife and I to have pets to boot. It's a very nice place and I have great neighbors. If I needed to pick up and move I could because I don't have a mortgage. I really don't see much of an upside to owning a home, especially after the housing bubble debacle. You can't take it with you when you die. I know that I'm not building equity and some people would say that I'm "throwing money away" when I write that rent check, but I'm very happy here in my home.

Remember when the realators told us a house was the best investment? That you'd better get in now or be priced out forever? Or that house prices never decline?

Remember when the Realators told us renting was for suckers?

Remember that? Bwahahahahahaa!

Here is the good part. i am living back in the same house i was buting when the housing bust started.

i was paying $ 2500.00 a month payment and to leave it. ^ months go, i moved back to the same house and rented it FOR $ 1200.00 A MONTH. I have a lease good for 5 years. no maintance, HOA dues and pay lawn man $ 15.00 a week to mow yard. uses his own equipment. In bradenton fl. still new home and 2500 sq. ft.

will never buy again.

Plain and simple: housing costs exceeded the ability of incomes to support them. Housing costs need to shrink until they become affordable again. After WW2 a minimum wage earner could purchase a home, basic but liveable and comfortable. Then it became the single income middle class person who could afford a home. Then it became necessary for 2 incomes to support housing costs. The whole deal is greed based, from top to bottom and include more than just financial institutions and gimmick loans. (Additionally, property taxes have gotten way out of control adding to the unaffordableness of homes in this country.) The American dream was turned into a night mare by greed and excess.

Some people have to rent...and that has been me most of my life as a single parent. I'm not asking anyone to reconsider renting when you have no other option. But when you do, there are other things to think about that aren't mentioned here.

All comments that are pro-rent seem to be typical American attitudes now: no one is looking forward to their future, just what is the least work/money today. That's how we got into this mess. (Think ARMs, excessive credit, 2nd mortgages to pay for toys and vacations). But think about the following things.

What about retirement? If my parents and in-laws had not paid for their home by retirement, they could not have afforded to retire, while making rent or mortgage payments. All they pay now is taxes, and that is nothing when it is all you pay. You can't rent for the cost of just tax payments, not ever. That makes a HUGE difference in maintaining any kind of life in retirement. Especially since people now survive 20 years and more after retirement, instead of 5 or less. And especially since I anticipate health care costs may equal a mortgage payment (unless we get a public option like the truly modern countries who care about their people, and not just the rich ones.)

Since my parents planned ahead, & gave up toys/expensive vacations/eating out, they were ready for retirement in their paid-for home. They insured that major appliances were relatively new; the house was otherwise in good condition with no anticipated major repairs (like roof, etc) to be needed; their cars were relatively new and even their dentures were updated first. They had a very modest income their entire lives; they just didn't waste any of it. (And they never got divorced: huge financial gain there!) We didn't eat out all the time; we ate healthy, low fat, minimal meat, lots of fresh produce, CHEAP home-cooked meals. And yes, my mother worked full-time outside the home plus cared for four children. It was not easy, but it was incredibly, incredibly smart, and they had the backbone to do it. They realized that you have to look at money over the long-term, and make the hard decisions. I don't see that often in people today.

Also, after just 4 years in my house, my mortagage payments cost me no more than rent for a similar place after interest deductions. My mortgage will not increase, but rents keep going up. Yes, we have some repair costs; the house is 55 years old. But we bought a sensible home: all brick, solid oak flooring, new roof, etc. (The ones they make today almost seem disposable). So what if we paid to replace a water heater? In 4 years, the annual difference in rent would make up that cost in just a year. And this one is green: we only heat water when we need it, not 24/7, and it doesn't even use electricity: the pilot ignites using water pressure as a power source. The same goes for the oven and refrigerator: each of those will easily be replaced for the cost/less than the cost of an annual rent increase, plus be energy efficient. Landlords don't care how much utilities are; they allow the renter to pay it. That's why my last landlord put in a 'new' stove/oven that had like zero insulation, heating the entire house when I used it (making the a.c. run like crazy). He didn't care; he only wanted his own profit; to hell with my money and with the environment.

Also, in the same light, what about leaving behind something for the children? I guess no one thinks about that anymore either...except the rich. I guess I'm old-fashioned; I'd like to help my children have a better life than I did. When I am gone, they get the equity in my home to help them out. If the market crashes, there is still a solid, useable heritage for them. They could live in it themselves, or rent it out, or sell it. It is real; it is tangible, and not subject to market manipulations designed to keep the rich rich.

As I said, some people have to rent, as I did for most of my life, and I don't knock that at all. But to those who have options, especially young people with many years ahead of you, I ask you to think long term, first, and have the guts to make the tough decisions. That is what made this country great, and that is what made life for my parents' generation ultimately better. They had self-control. This attitude of me, myself, and I combined with a need for instant gratification has been used by the wealthy in this country to allow them to grab hold of 80% of all the wealth, leaving everyone else with nothing but constant bills. It used to be that attitudes seeking instant pleasure and only self-pleasure were considered a failure to grow up. What happened?

We need a new rental model. You can't have your cake and eat it. Lower housing costs by renting, no responsibility for maintenance, no tax or water increases and no rent increases. As a landlord, I am willing to absorb the risk of ownership but tenants who want to rent a quality home must be willing to commit to longer leases (not one year) and pick up typical usage costs such as utilities, water, sewer, and reasonable tax increases. I will deal with the bank and fluctuations in financing costs and the risk of a price decline.

Home 'ownerhip'. It will never happen for most people. How many actually pay off their house? And it is one of the worst investments

In 4 years, we will have paid off our house. The THIRD time, we have done so. Our home is our home, not an investment. We have always purchased responsibly and although there have been times when making the mortgage was difficult, it was never impossible. Just adding a couple hundred a month to your mortgage can greatly reduce the time frame before your house is paid off.

Our current home is most likely worth less than we paid for it, plus considerable improvements; but since we do not plan on moving for quite some time, that is not an issue at this time. Prices will most likely rebound given time. I have seen several small towns loose their main employer and housing prices have taken a huge nose dive. However, given time, every one has rebounded. We have bought and sold six homes over the years. Sometimes, we have sold at a loss, but never as much as paying rent for the same period.

Having my own home means I can decorate as I wish and do not have to worry about damage-control. I choose not to rent, but I also realize home ownership is not for everyone.

Millions of people made mistakes and were mislead, living way beyond the means. Living beyond the normal life styles. They have fancy cars jewelry and eat the best resturants. They are living off credit. I am seeing the Babby boomers trying to save thier children and bail them out! The Baby Boomers are losing their hard earned assets due to this. Bad mistake. Make your kids sell their fancy belongings and stop living this rediculus life style. NEVER Buy at the height of market, always buy low and to live long term. Greed has caught everyone. Now the creedy can pay my morgage on my rentals properties. It is a hard lesson learned. This is the time people who did not get caught in the market 5-7 years ago can now jump into market and do very well. Yes there will be lot's of people needing to rent!

After retirement, having a home that is paid for can be the difference between eating catfood or pork chops for dinner!

America is a mobile society--mobile phones, laptops, and now homes. With the bubble bursting it makes little sense to spend 10% of a homes value on paying exhorbitant real estate sells cost and closing costs when values if anything are headed down. It will be at least two decades before prices return to 2006 levels and it's doubtful they ever will. So millions more will foreclose on their homes when times get rough-job transfer, job loss, medical disasters, etc. It makes far more sense to rent in this environment as the 'subsidization' of homes benefit by government interest deduction are not enough to offset the negatives to owning a home (immobility, expenses, depreciation, etc).

It makes no sense to own a home if your job isn't secure in the location you live. And so many jobs are like that now. Job for life? Get real that doesn't exist anymore for 99% of jobs.

It's a whole new ball game for the forseeable future thanks to a clueless Obama administration. It has the tools to control demand using the interest rate deduction and indexing it to control supply and demand. But it's too stupid to see that!!

Obamanomics is scary and is going to bankrupt this country!

OilOil and MarkGill...it took a few months to find, but the house we rent, although modest, is perfect for our needs. 3 bedrooms up, 1 down, 2 baths, a yard for the doggies, in a nice Denver suburb. Signed a 2 year lease. At $1,100 per month, it's a steal. In the process of renting, I got online, checked out who owned the house, etc., etc. Turns out the owner owns it outright and has since 1978. Her previous renters lived in it for 17 years. She is an awesome landlord and just wants good tenants (that would be us). We lost money on our last home big time, hubs' income is down by 40% due to 2 layoffs in past 6 years. Ouch. We are much less stressed with the current arrangement. I think the decision to rent or own is highly personal and there are many variables involved.

Renting vs. owning is personal decision, and it may be financially beneficial to own vs. rent or vice versa. But owning a home is not an investment, it is a place to live. The long term history of home prices shows that they increase 1% per year over inflation, and that is a lousy return on investment. Contrast that with the fact that one dollar invested in the S&P 500 stock index in 1950 would now be worth $45, a 4500% increase. That would be the same as buying a home in 1950 for $10,000 and having it now be worth $450,000. I don't think so. And that does not even consider the cost for maintaining a home over a period of many years.

For most of us our jobs aren't going ot be around long enough to pay off anything.

Couple that with skyrocketing taxes of all kinds, high unemployment and a huge backlog of shadow inventory that's only going to rise for the next 3-5 years renting is the only way to go.

You can't enter into long term agreements when your income is short term and opportunity regional.

If your landlord wants to raise your rent, move and get a better deal. Rents are falling so they can't raise your rent if you're willing to move. It's a race to the bottom for landlords, you don't wanna be one.

Stay mobile, go where the opportunities are, keep your costs down and good luck - you'll need it.

We own a house we are renting until we move back to that area - something we expect in about 4 years. Until then we are renting, but buying's not an option here in Germany. Once back in the States, we'll see, but we're considering buying again.

The advantage of renting now is immense. It allows you to easily uproot without taking a bath or worse not being able to sell because you can't cover the difference. Our current house was well researched & is worth roughly what we paid for it, but we bought small & in a convenient location to public transport rather than buy a much larger place out further. The location has kept our property from depreciating. Some of the houses just 10 miles further down the interstate lost half their value over the last 3 years & aren't rebounding because there are so many foreclosures.

Sadly with today's high turnover economy where a person cannot expect to be with the same company for a career, renting probably makes more sense.

Depending on your individual expectations for living arrangements there are risks for either renting & for owning.

- Rental rates will continue to increase as the property owner/landlord's property taxes increases. Rental rates fluctuate based on area revitalization projects and new development.

- I couldn't rent the same amount of space that I own at a cost less than my mortgage payment. It would cost more to rent my house than it would to just own it.

- Being able to write-off mortgage interest payments and homeowner insurance payments is a big perk to ownership as if vastly increases my annual tax refund.

- A risk of ownership is that your neighbors are horrible and likely to stay longer than if renting. Or that your community quality of living decreases dramatically and it become harder to sell your home.

- If renting, you have a lot more neighbors living closer together, less privacy, less access to private space outside, less control of exterior preferences. In contrast owning a home provides an opposite experience --- but owning a condo or townhome has the same risks as renting. Why would I buy an apartment (aka condo), I don't know.

Of course you must buy a house sometime in your life or you are a total loser. Just pray to god its not haunted or next to a serial killer.

There is no one ubiquitous answer that fits all.  If you can afford it and you are willing to accept the responsibility of it, owning a home can be a good way to go.  If you can't afford home ownership or are unable to take on the responsibility, then renting is best.  The key is "look before you leap."  For YOUR situation and the community where YOU live, what is best for YOU???

So, learn to think for yourself and not let some materialistic "dream" tell you what you need to be in order to be happy.

Owning a townhouse works for me - nice neighborhood, controlled monthly costs (other than taxes) and I don't have to cut the grass! Any outside maintenance is covered by quarterly dues - new roof - no problem :)

No one solution is best for everyone. Those who have lost money and/or are underwater need to be patient. Things will change - be patient, vote responsibly in November, and get involved in the Presidential election that is just 2 years away. I guarantee you, if Obama has any inclination to run for a 2nd term, the economy has to be moving in a positive direction for the majority.