Buy vs. Rent: An Update

[mEDITate-OR:
not know that what you are paid controls what you can afford to pay...
Disirregardless, the differences between Seattle-Portland and the San Francisco Bay area are very small. While all of them are MUCH higher than Manhatten, NY or Washington DC.
And, tis shocking, shocking we say, to see how low Las Vegas and Phoenix are down below.

The reason for the last is, of course, the effects of both the boom/peak and now the foreclosures.
Stunning, numbers.
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It’s pretty amazing when you think about it. The country has suffered through a terrible crash in home prices, yet buying a house remains an iffy proposition in many markets.
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Below is an updated list of rent ratios — the price of a typical home divided by the annual cost of renting that home — for 55 metropolitan areas across the country. most ratios have not changed much since then.
A good rule of thumb is that you should often buy when the ratio is below 15 and rent when the ratio is above 20. If it’s between 15 and 20, lean toward renting — unless you find a home you really like and expect to stay there for many years.
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Metro area	Ratio
East Bay, Calif.	35.9
Honolulu	34.4
San Jose, Calif.	32.7
San Francisco	27.9
Seattle	27.3
Charlotte, N.C.	27
Orange County, Calif.	27
New York (Manhattan)	26.7
Raleigh, N.C.	26.2
Portland, Ore.	25.9
North – Central New Jersey	25.2
Nashville	24
Denver	22.6
San Diego	22.1
Long Island, N.Y.	21.4
Milwaukee	21.4
Austin, Tex.	20.5
Norfolk, Va.	19.9
Richmond	19.7
Memphis	19.3
Bridgeport, Conn.	18.5
Hartford	18.4
Boston	18.4
Washington – Northern Virginia – Maryland	18.3
Oklahoma City	18.2
Baltimore	17.6
Columbus, Ohio	17.6
Palm Beach County, Fla.	17.6
Salt Lake City	17.6
Sacramento	16.7
San Antonio	16.7
Chicago	16.6
New Orleans	16.2
Philadelphia	16.1
Houston	15.9
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.	15.7
Miami	15.6
New York	15.4
Los Angeles	15.4
Kansas City, Kan.	15.3
Inland Empire, Calif.	15.1
National average for metro areas	15.1
Indianapolis	15.1
Jacksonville, Fla.	15
Minneapolis	14.9
St. Louis	14.6
Las Vegas	14.3
Atlanta	14.3
Orlando, Fla.	14.1
Tampa, Fla.	14
Cincinnati	13.9
Dallas – Fort Worth	13.8
Phoenix	13.3
Detroit	12.4
Cleveland	11.7
Pittsburgh	11.4

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Buy vs. Rent: An Update
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/22/buy-vs-rent-an-update/
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