Good Time to Buy? Housing Cheaper to Own vs. Rent in 12 U.S. Metro Areas: WSJ

now if i just had that 20% down they casually mention

I love the comment in the end. Realtors in 2007 "It's a GREAT time to buy a house!". Great for the real estate industry that is. My personal take: Yes, housing prices haven follow to relatively affordable prices now, given income ratios, own vs rent, etc.. as the article states. However and this is a big factor for me. A huge factor depends on the CURRENT HISTORICALLY LOW interest rates. Now, we buy house and expect our investment to go up and not down. If interest rates go UP, our investment will suffer greatly..given the current rationale (ratios, etc) that makes these prices ok now.

That said, housing prices in metro areas (ie: NY NJ CA) are still overpriced in my opinion. How realistic is it that you will make money selling 5 yrs from now, given th 7-10% cost of selling etc..? There is still ways to go in terms of price correction IMO.

Buy a house, cheaper than renting? i dont think so, start adding , taxes and inssurance, and the picture is not so rosy, buying a house makes sense if inflation rises, which is what Bernanke wnts to see.

This analysis completely ignores the most important issue... declining house values. If I buy a house for $200,000 after 20% down, with a mortgage rate of PITI $1200/mo, that might seem relatively cheap. However, what has been happening is that in many areas home values have been declining by 10%/yr. Until that stops the real cost of the house bought is an additional $20,000/yr for a total cost of nearly $2900/month.

Also, housing prices did not again achieve their 1929 price until 1954. This could be a decade away from be resolved.

6 million homes are underwater and are expected to go into foreclosure with many taking place in 2012. Banks will be left holding massive amounts of foreclosed homes. Not a good time to buy a home or invest in a bank unless the price of the home is heavily discounted.

who has the 20% down payment? It may be cheaper, in a comparative way, but who has the 20%???

In the US you never own. You just rent from the government. We should do like they do in Europe where your primary residence is tax free and you pay an escalating rate the more residences you own. The American system is anti family and pro rich.

Buying, i.e., renting a mortgage to assume liability for a depreciating asset, is rarely cheaper than renting unless the asset stops depreciating. This is unlikely in the coming decade as the market for single family homes was so severely overbuilt during the free money/no regulation days. This is true regardless of demographics, which are also strongly against the single family housing element as baby boomers are now going to start downsizing and dying off in larger numbers. But the guys on TV have great suits and nice hair.

remember, to all people that rent their properties.... you must deal with all issues and the main one, people that stop paying rent. It can take a long time to evict a tennant. Be aware that it is not always smooth sailing with being a landlord. Especially if you are a landlord in absentia.

Also, not everyone is making 14 percent a year, most are not actually.

Owning a house makes sense if you can buy it at a low price and get a low interest payment. If you are going to be living there for at least 10 years it makes sense. It also makes sense if you just want a property to call home base even if you travel abroad.

Time to buy for sure....Now tell that to the banks

i vish my house vould sell...

yes is very good time to buy houses..and this mean invest in your buget..

Avg. monthly payment is $ 539 dollars? hahaha That is my monthly tax bill on my house in NY State!

Though this is good news for buyers who have the credit, cash flow and the ability to buy now, it is very bad news for existing homeowners who have consistently seen their home values drop or cannot rent their homes. Yes, buy if you can, do it now, but there is no guarantee that in this jobless recovery that buyer will continue to be able to make payments on their cheaper interest rates if they lose their job. The total value of my homes has dropped by 20%, the saving grace is that they are all rented and paid off. Not everyone is as well off, many are struggling to maintain their standard of living or to stay in the homes they have now. Poor government policies, greed and he belief that government intervention in home buying for the equalization of the social good caused these issues.

Pay rent forever? Not a good plan for retirement since rents seldom go down and for many retirement income is fixed. Unless you own rental property. Rent goes up with inflation.

heeeee!

hahahahahahahahahahahaha... econ sucks..

a lie! a mortgage is a nicer word for rent! if you didnt pay cash for your house you dont own it anyways! your landlord is bank of america or whoever your lender is.