A thumbs-up (sort of) to buying
Three-quarters of Americans polled for the National Apartment Association said renting is preferable to owning in the current market. But another large group of Americans -- close to two-thirds polled by Fannie Mae -- of are the opinion that now is a good time to buy.
So I asked you to break the deadlock.
Is now a better time to buy or rent? Or does neither have a clear advantage these days?
Forty-six percent of you say it's a better time to buy, the most popular answer -- though a plurality rather than an absolute majority.
Thirty-nine percent say it's a better time to rent.
And the rest -- about 15 percent -- say "six of one, half dozen of another."
There's been a lot of discussion about prices, rents, property taxes, tax deductions and the like, but I'd be interested to hear about how the process of finding a place to buy or rent has gone for you in recent months. Difficult? Easy-peasy?
Did you intend to buy, get frustrated midway through and switch to renting -- or vice versa?
Categories: Housing forecasts, Housing market experiences, Renting
Sign up for the At Home newsletter 
Comments
My wife and I recently decided it was time to buy, and now we're under contract for a property in Baltimore county. The strength/weakness of the housing market was far less of a concern than whether we had enough money for a downpayment and closing costs.
We had a large number of properties to choose from, most of which had been on the market for months, and zero competition from other buyers. We did encounter difficulties with sellers who bought at the height of the bubble and had placed unrealistically high prices on their homes. We wrote our contract so that the bank appraisal would be completed before any inspections, etc., which helped bring the sellers back to reality.
Posted by: Chris | June 5, 2010 10:08 AM
Thanks for sharing your experience, Chris. Glad it was a good one.
Posted by: Jamie Smith Hopkins | June 5, 2010 12:13 PM
Don't worry folks, we have about 8 more years for the foreclosure mess to clear through the market. If you don't buy today, you will get a better deal tomorrow. Just keep waiting...
http://www.businessinsider.com/mark-hanson-mortgage-foreclosure-2010-6
Posted by: Metzger | June 5, 2010 12:15 PM
For a crime eroded place totally bereft of good public schools, Baltimore is doing extremely well - if one considers high home prices positive.
Posted by: Darwin where art thou? | June 6, 2010 7:39 PM