Rent vs. buying at an all time high

"The last time home affordability fell to such an extreme was in 1981, but that was because interest rates jumped from 13% to 16%," says Hessam Nadji, a managing director for Marcus & Millichap, an investment brokerage firm.

"What's alarming this time is that interest rates are still historically low. That means rents need to go up, and home prices to come down in some areas, for the balance to be regained. And that may be a painful process that takes between a year to 18 months."

In San Francisco, where the median home costs about $760,000, apartment rents have jumped 15% in the past two months, says Janan New, executive director of the San Francisco Apartment Association.

"There is a huge demand for apartments in San Francisco because homes are so unaffordable," she says.

That's still not enough to persuade them to keep their home there. "We've been watching the rents," Seibel says. "But for what we're paying for our mortgage and property taxes, we could be renting a mansion in Pacific Heights."

When the Coffeys were apartment hunting, she called a landlord who had posted an ad on the Craigslist website. "She told me, 'You're the sixth person to contact me, and I've had it listed for 15 minutes.' "

See full story: USA Today rent vs. Buying

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