Renting vs. Buying: How Today's Market Changes Everything
In today's housing market, the decision between renting and buying involves weighing several key factors that have undergone significant shifts in recent years. Buying a home offers long-term wealth building through equity, potential tax benefits, a significant inflation hedge, and the freedom to modify your space, but it comes with upfront costs, ongoing maintenance responsibilities, and less flexibility to relocate. Renting provides greater mobility for career opportunities, eliminates financial risk from property value fluctuations, and transfers maintenance to landlords, though you build no equity and face potential rent increases with limited control over your environment. With elevated home prices and mortgage rates making buying less accessible, while rental markets have also seen significant increases, the decision largely depends on your local market conditions, financial situation, and long-term plans. If you’d like to discuss both options and determine what works best for you, please give us a call.
- When you need to work on your credit. Maybe your credit score is just starting to recover, but you need more time to pay down debts for a couple of years. With rent-to-own, you could start investing in a home while you bring up your score.
- You’re close, but not quite ready to secure a mortgage. You might have a good job with a significantly bigger salary, but you haven’t been there long enough for a lender to consider it a stable source of income. Or maybe you’re self-employed and you’re still building a reliable track record. Rent-to-own allows time to build personal wealth and financial credibility while working toward your homeownership goals.
- When you know you’re going to buy when the lease expires. If you’re not ready to buy when the lease expires, then you will lose any rent credit, i.e. investment, you’ve put into the home.
