Renting vs Buying a Home: Which is Smarter

We are frequently asked if now is a good time to buy a house or whether waiting might be better since the real estate market is so crazy.  It’s a tough question to answer and unfortunately, the answer is “it depends”.

One of my children is searching for his first house and the process has been frustrating.  Houses go under agreement in a matter of days and often to buyers who make all-cash offers.  All cash offers for a starter home??  How is that even possible?  He went to one open house and the realtor told him as soon as he walked in the door that the seller was only accepting cash offers.  In a market like that, it is probably best to wait a bit and resume the home search later in the year when things slow down for the holidays and the winter. 

That being said, I recently collaborated with Geoff Williams of US News and World Report on this article that examines “Renting vs Buying a Home: Which is Smarter”