Is it better to own your own home or rent? The answer depends on many factors. What’s best today may change if the circumstances of your day-to-day life change. Here are a few points you should consider if you’re weighing the options of buying versus renting.

Your Future Plans

If you’ve recently graduated from college, ended a marriage, or retired, you’re probably in a transitional period of your life. You may be better off renting if you’re not sure of your long-term plans. If you buy a home and go to sell it soon afterward, the costs of buying and selling a home (real estate commissions, closing costs, etc.), will not be recouped as they normally would be over a longer period of time. If you know you’re going to be living in a certain area and plan on staying in the same home for a long time, then buying may make financial sense. Over the long term, in a rising real estate market, the tax savings associated with home ownership and the equity you build in a home can be significant. Plus, you’ll be able to decorate, remodel, and landscape as you please.

The Housing Market

Since the mortgage meltdown which began in 2008, the housing market had experienced significant declines in many areas of the country. Fortunately though, the housing market is fully recovered and we’re seeing decent rates of appreciation in most markets. Rochester, NY did not experience the decline in property values that was being seen in other markets mainly because we didn’t see big swings of increased property values. The market here is relatively stable so investing in real estate is a pretty safe bet, but like any other investment, the value of your home may increase or decrease over time.

To find out if it makes financial sense to rent rather than own, compare the cost of renting versus buying a home in your area. Keep in mind that timing the housing market (waiting to buy when house prices are at their lowest) may be just as difficult as timing the investment market.