Is It More Prudent to Buy or Rent?

Buying a home has many advantages, however, renting comes with few strings attached

By Vanessa Wong – Bloomberg Businessweek
June 3, 2010

To rent or to buy? For millions of Americans, that is the question. The recent housing boom and subsequent bust seem to provide a clear answer—that given an affordable mortgage, we would all rather be buyers.

With the piercing clarity that is 20-20 hindsight, many people burned by the mortgage market may now think differently. After all, you can’t be foreclosed on if you don’t own in the first place. For them, renting has become not only the smart move, but the only sensible one

Besides stability and status, owning a home can help build equity, improve credit ratings, and be a tax deduction. Given these benefits, the dream of home ownership is hard to give up, though. Much as sales of gas-guzzling pickups and SUVs are rebounding, Americans seem to need only the slightest nudge to jump back into the housing market.

In April, sales of existing homes rose 7.6 percent nationwide, according to the National Association of Realtors. For new homes, sales surged 14.8 percent, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

“Many Americans are questioning if home ownership is an inherent element of their dream,” says Tara-Nicholle Nelson, real estate consumer advocate for real estate website Trulia. Part of that dream is also based on economic common sense. Besides stability and status, owning a home can help build equity, improve credit ratings, and be a tax deduction. Given these benefits, the dream of home ownership is hard to give up, though. Much as sales of gas-guzzling pickups and SUVs are rebounding, Americans seem to need only the slightest nudge to jump back into the housing market. In April, sales of existing homes rose 7.6 percent nationwide, according to the National Association of Realtors. For new homes, sales surged 14.8 percent, according to the National Association of Home Builders.