Came across this article and it pretty much reaffirms the things I have learned over the past year:
Rent vs Buy Myths That Ruined the Housing Market
Through a lot of reading, studying and crunching some numbers I’ve changed my view of owning a home based on ideas similar to the ones presented in this article. The most important thing I’ve learned is that a primary residence is not an investment, it’s just shelter.
Came across this nice calculator at the NY Times that lets you fill in a number of parameters to help make decisions about renting or buying. While prices are out of whack compared to income you are better off renting and investing the difference (if you have anything left over each month) rather than buying. With prices dropping, inventory rising, and more and more loans resetting into the middle of next year that might change. As prices come down to realistic levels over the next few years it might not be a bad time to think about buying. This calculator can help you make a decision based on your particular situation.