Not to open another can of renter vs. buyer whoopass, but here's an argument from MSN Money (via The Simple Dollar) that home ownership merely claws you to the middle.
The average renter makes about $34,000 a year, but while the percentage of renters declines after incomes exceed $20,000 and rents exceed $600 a month, it jumps again once incomes top $150,000 and rents top $1,200 a month. In other words, poor people rent modest apartments for lack of choice. Middle-income people buy houses. High-income people, presumably with a dose of financial savvy, often rent nice apartments instead of buying.
So if our rent is more than $1,200 a month we should be pulling down $150,000 a year? No wonder!
Case in point from a caps-lock challenged real estate agent: 12 REASONS TO STOP RENTING!! ...within 12 miles of Downtown Los Angeles. The square footage inside these dozen lower middle-class properties under $360,000 makes us rather rent space inside a dozen box of Sprinkles.
· Why rent? To get richer [MSN Money]
· 12 Reasons to Stop Renting [Sold in the City]