One year ago, Trulia’s Rent vs. Buy Report, released by online real estate aggregator Trulia, found it was 44% cheaper to buy a house than to rent. Today, the gap has narrowed, due in part to rising interest rates and home prices. The newest edition of the report finds that buying a home is now 38% cheaper than renting. The report compares costs for a seven-year period using five calculations:

1. The average rent and sale prices for an identical set of properties;

2. The initial total monthly costs of owning (assuming 20% down and a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 3.5% interest, as well as annual maintenance, insurance, utility, and property tax expenses) and renting (monthly rent plus renter’s insurance);

3. The future total monthly costs of owning and renting;

4. One-time costs and proceeds (for owning, this includes closing costs and capital gains tax of 15% for gains above the $500,000 annual exclusion; for renting, this includes one month’s security deposit); and

5. The net present value to account for opportunity cost of money (this compares cash flows over time).

According to the report, homeownership remains cheaper across the nation and in all of the 100 largest metro markets. However, these findings speak broadly to the national market, and there are several situations where it still makes more sense to rent. Here, we look at some of the reasons why it’s a good time to buy for many Americans, and circumstances when it might make more sense to rent.
Reasons to Buy
Peggy Jennings, a Broker/Realtor with Prudential Great Smokys Realty in Sylva, North Carolina, cites favorable interest rates, good inventory and relaxed loan requirements as good reasons to buy now. “Interest rates are still good. The inventory is improving as more people are deciding it’s time to sell. There’s going to be a lot of good inventory coming up, especially since the foreclosures from a couple years ago are now rehabbed and ready to sell,” says Jennings.

http://homes.yahoo.com/news/is-homeownership-a-smart-investment-again–215619685.html

U.S. consumer confidence surged to a six-year high in March and house prices increased solidly in January, positioning the economy for stronger growth after a weather-induced soft spot.

The upbeat outlook, however, was dimmed somewhat by other data on Tuesday showing new home sales at a five-month low in February, partly because of cold temperatures.

“The economy is showing signs of shaking off the weather effect. We are going to get a big lift to second-quarter growth from the weather,” said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics in West Chester Pennsylvania.

The Conference Board said its index of consumer attitudes rose to 82.3 from 78.3 in February. That is the highest level since January 2008, just as recession started to take hold, and it beat economists’ expectations for a reading of only 78.6.

The jump in confidence bodes well for the economy’s prospects, even though consumers were less upbeat about the labor market.

U.S. stocks and the dollar rose in response to the confidence report.

An unusually cold and snowy winter has held back the economy, disrupting activity ranging from hiring to spending and manufacturing. Growth in the first quarter is expected to have slowed considerably from the fourth-quarter’s annualized 2.4 percent pace.

Separately, the S&P/Case-Shiller composite index of home prices in 20 metropolitan areas rose 0.8 percent in January on a seasonally adjusted basis. It followed a similar increase in December. Prices rose 13.2 percent from a year ago.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/25/us-usa-economy-idUSBREA2O10I20140325