Rent vs Buy Index In Relation To Rent to Own

Hi Everyone,

   Hope you had a fantastic Mothers Day (if you are a Mom), and a great weekend. As always, I am overjoyed to have you back with me.

   Real Estate website Trulia.com has released it's Quarterly Rent vs. Buy Index, which analyzes the affordability of either Renting a Home or Buying a Home (per Trulia, "a two-bedroom apartment, condominium or townhouse") in 50 major U.S. cities.

To summarize some of the results (per Trulia):

* "Falling Prices and Rising Rents Make Homes More Affordable in Q2 Versus Q1. Current market conditions consisting of steadily rising rents, falling home prices and low mortgage rates have tipped the rent versus buy scale in favor of homeownership."

* "Since last quarter, buying a home has become more affordable than renting in nearly four out of five (80 percent) major cities; only in New York, Fort Worth and Kansas City was renting a less costly option than buying."

* The "Rent vs. Buy Decision in Coastal Cities", such as Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, San Francisco, Portland and Oakland, "Depends Less on Home Affordability", and "More on Personal Finances"

   Let's take a look at this from our vantage-point; what does this mean for Rent to Own ? Basically, if Renting costs less that Buying the home outright (and paying off a monthly mortgage), then Renting to Own would certainly be advantageous. If Renting costs more than Buying, then this would come down to a decision based on Personal Finances, just as Trulia eluded to in the story.

What are your thoughts on this topic?

Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes Blog http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Website http://www.lease2buy.com