The Tipping Point For Buying Versus Renting

Some have said we are living in the middle of Generation Renter (mostly because people are having a hard time coming up with enough cash for a downpayment) but with interest rates so low it is better to buy a house now if at all possible. But how much would rates have to rise in order for renting to become a cheaper proposition than buying? Trulia has crunched their numbers and have come up with the answer: roughly 10%. While it does depend on the market—for San Jose, California rates would only have to rise above 5.2% to make renting a better option—there would still have to be a considerable rise to make buying a more expensive commitment than renting (just on paper, of course). Click over to read their exact methodology and to see the list of cities with the highest and lowest tipping points for mortgage rates.