I love seeing articles like this. It's a take that many people do not want to hear. Of course, like everything, it depends on the individual. But in my case, renting is definitely cheaper.

I rent a 1100sq apartment for $1000, and reside a 10 minute walk from my place of work. If I were to buy a condo of similar size in the Seattle area, I'd be lucky to find one for $400K. By "lucky" I mean, don't even bother. But just for fun, let's run the numbers. My local credit union has a 30yr fixed rate mortgage at 6.4%. For a $400,000 condo, that's monthly payments of $2500 for 30 years. Tack on home owner's fees, insurance, taxes, maintenance, the gas it would take to commute to work, car maintenance, etc, and I'd be looking at at least $3500/mo out of pocket for that condo. I'd end up with a condo that I paid $1,260,000 for. It would have to triple in value to be worth it to me. And only then is it worth anything if I sell it or rent it out.

If I kept my $1000 apartment and invested just HALF of the leftover ($1250) at an average 8% annual return, after 30 years I'd have a tidy $1,863,039.84. Subtract the $360,000 that I pay in rent and I'd have a net of $1,503,039.84.

And I don't want to hear anyone mention the tax deduction on the mortgage interest. You're only saving 25% of the applicable interest costs. You're spending $1 to get back a quarter. Not a good financial move in my opinion.

But like I said, it depends on the individual situation and needs. But for me (childless, married) it's a no-brainer.