We are seeing potential tenants and buyers struggling with this question. Even those who are qualified to purchase are sometimes on the fence as to what they should do. Is the market going to take a decisive swing in favor of the seller or the buyer? Right now, here in Arizona we are in relative balance. In our market, there are still some amazing opportunities for buyers right now – many of which are private listings which may not be out there for the buyer base to see. This makes your agent’s networking connections even more critical. In addition, our mortgage partners continue to offer a wealth of creative programs with down and dirty rates, making the buying decision a no-brainer for many.
Thanks to this wonderful article from the New York Times, you can run your own calculations with this user friendly RENT vs BUY calculator. It provides sliding scales for all of your decision factors. When I did my own calculation to test the program, the results were resounding. Knowing the rental market today, it is highly unlikely I would find anything with the quality, location and lifestyle amenities for a comparable monthly price in rent, even with the costs of ownership.
I’m truly glad this was published – it is a wonderful tool for our clients and we salute you, New York Times!
You can read the full article and run your own analysis here using this calculator.
