Good lord, we're actually doing something right by throwing away our money on rent? Yes, the NY Times think so. After analyzing the costs of buying vs. renting in every major metropolitan area, the paper concludes: "Over the next five years, which is about the average amount of time recent buyers have remained in their homes, prices in the Los Angeles area would have to rise more than 5 percent a year for a typical buyer there to do better than a renter."
Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Economy.com, weighs in and characterizes the housing market as "not a bargain" and "unfriendly." Unfriendly! We always felt slighted, yes. And the paper goes on to argue that renters may be better off investing in the stock market, rather than in that fixer-upper down the street. Bonus: Fancy (and very confusing) graphic to go with the story.
· A Word of Advice During a Housing Slump: Rent [NY Times]