10 cities where buying beats renting

Affordable homes are the upside of the continuing crisis in the housing market. Here are places where it could make more sense to buy.

By U.S. News & World Report

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STEPHEN MACK (Basic Math)
May 24, 2011 5:33PM
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Do not buy into the purchase of a home. Equity my A*%   Here is why.

 

My taxes on a 250K house is 5k  Government mandatory flood insurance 2k  (100 year flood zone)  3% of purchase price of home needed for improvement \ fixing per year 7k ( industry standard)  Home owners insurance 1k   Do not for get the 50K down payment that no longer earns interest  3k loss.

 

18K a year  just for me to break even on my investment.  Luxury rent in my area 1500 per month  Hell,The way the economy has been over the last 3 or 4 years I could not find anybody to buy my house if i wanted to.  Sucker bet.

 

Basic Math

funybone
May 24, 2011 5:23PM
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This ever so short lists takes it for granted that the people reading the article actually want to live in the cities listed.  Not saying it's all bad, but how about a more complete run down of cities across the country and not just 10.  While interesting, this article only pertains to those who might want to call those places home.  I mean to each their own, but I'm just sayin....
JAWSZ
May 24, 2011 6:18PM
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Las Vegas...
Projected home price growth over the next five years: 42%

 

This is all you need to read to know the article is complete bunk.  You have a better chance making 42% spinning the wheel than buying a house in that sandbox.

Someone (Kathy Bell)
May 24, 2011 8:41PM
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These foreclosure rate percentages are wrong. Also, in this market no one can predict equity in 5 years. If they could they'd buy the properties themselves and make a ton of money selling them. As a real estate broker in San Diego and having been in Mortgage Banking since 1978, I find this article so misleading that it's fradulent. The market continues it's downward slide. If you want to buy a home, do it for the right reasons. It may never be worth more than what you pay for it, maybe less. Buy it because you want stability and no landlord. Remember, you don't own your home if you have a mortgage, you're still buying. A mortgage makes you a glorified renter because if you don't pay monthly, out you go.
neoncactus1
May 24, 2011 8:47PM
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The worst part is the "Bailout" was supposed to help people like you and me. I fell on hard times, got (finally) a full time job and went for the loan mod. After months of bs paper work I'm in the 3 month trial period. The big change to my payment ??? From $2045 a month to $ 1835.00 all they did was drop a 6.625 interest rate to 5% and the going rate is like 3-4%. We pay our bills and my wife and I were both at the mid 700's on fico score but not anymore. Arizona is a walk away state and god I sometimes want too. The rich keep getting richer. And if they raise the tax on the rich , the rich will raise prices for us. It's a dam shame!
Oh yeah I'm no kid either. 53 and working hard.

VooDoo4
May 24, 2011 7:18PM
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Funny. I scrolled thru the list of cities. You couldn't pay me to live in MOST of those toilets. Detroit, D.C., cleveland, Atlanta? Are you kidding me?Thumbs down
pacopete
May 24, 2011 9:45PM
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It is irresponsible at this time to predict that housing prices in these cities will increase 25 to 30 percent when they are still  falling right now. Smart money is not putting money into home real estate. Only people who are making money in real estate, construction and related industries pray that you buy a home.
Debi 777
May 24, 2011 8:11PM
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These rich bankers feed on your impatience and greed. They know you need to borrow money because you won't save and pay cash for anything. They know you won't mind living ouytside of what you can afford bcz they send Advertising, movies and all kinds of social media to control everything you buy from food to fashion... I won't even allow one credit card in my house... They suckered the American Public, stole their houses, took their golden parachutes and the bastards still sleep well at night. It is the AMERICAN WAY!
BluCollerSarge
May 24, 2011 8:57PM
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Is it me or do a lot of you out there also get the feeling that these articles are talking to people who have about 200k in liquid to play around with? I'm better off than most in this country right now, but I sure couldn't just waltz into some town and buy a house for 'investment purposes'. I actually have a lot of good equity, but buying a house for me would still depend on selling where I currently live first. And come'on... who really wants to go raise a family someplace like Cleveland or Detroit - a couple of cities that were suffering badly even BEFORE all this mess came about.  

NIGHT1
May 24, 2011 6:48PM
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IF PEOPLE WERE SMART ENOUGH TO BE MORE TOGETHER, THEY COULD LIVE BETTER THAN THIS AND THEY COULD BRING DOWN TO THE GROUND GOD DAMN BLOOD SUCKER BILLIONARS TO DON'T LET THEM GET ADVANTAGE OF THEM...

I WOULD SAY PEOPLE SOULDNT BUY A HOUSE WITH A <<< BANK OWNED >>> SIGNE ON IT... COZ THIS WAY WE WILL TEACH THE BILLIONER BANKERS THAT IF YOU TAKE AWAY THE HOUSE FROM A NOT WELTHY FAMILLY, THEY CAN NEVER SELL THE HOUSE AGAIN TO GET THEIR MONEY FROM SOMEBODY ELSE... SO IT COULD BE BETTER FOR THE BANK TO LEAVE THE HOUSE WITH THAT FAMILY, GIVE THEM MORE TIME OR REFAINANCE IT TO BETTER RATE AND LOWER PAYMENT... THAT WAY ATLEAST THEY CAN GET THEIR PAYMENT WHEN THE ECONOMY SITUATION GOES BETTER WITH THAT FAMILY... BUT i KNOW IT NOT GONNA HAPPEN, COZ EVERYBODY THINKS FOR THEIR OWN BELLY...

MTG Free
May 24, 2011 6:15PM
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Let's talk when you're still paying for housing in retirement and I'm not.  Once you own it, you own it.
Someone (Sam503)
May 24, 2011 11:02PM
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This story has more holes and unsupported assumptions than Swiss cheese.....regrettab​le, but true.  Projecting appreciation at this point is a futile exercise given the economy and the consistently sporadic employment picture. 

There's a reason US News is such a thin book these days.  Hack, hack, hack.

Lexapro
May 24, 2011 6:21PM
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what crap, Cleveland! i just moved from there, and lost $100000 since 2000! it will be a dead city soon, Detroit! what political BS, this city is dead. The bottom has not been reached, and Fanny and Freddie are holding 800000 homes not even on the market yet, and most are in these cities!
NIGHT1
May 24, 2011 7:52PM
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TO DAY IF YOU HAVE SAVINGS, THEY PAY YOU 1%...LOL... BUT IF YOU LOAN SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO PAY BACK 6% - 8% - 12% - 18% OR SOMETIMES 24%... WHY...???

DO YOU KNOW TODAY STEALING PEOPLE  IS MADE OUT OF VERY SMALL AMOUNT LIKE A DOLLAR OR 2 OUT OF EVERY ACCOUNT IN MANY MANY DIFFERENT REASONS...!!!??? BANKS MAKING MILLIONS OF DOLLARD BY TAKING SINGLE DOLLAR FROM EVERY SINGLE ACCOUNT PER MONTH AND THEY HAVE VERY SMART PEOPLE UP THERE... I NEVER PUT MY MONEY IN THE BANK... I DON'T NEED THEIR 1%... SO THIS WAY I'M THE OWNER OF MY MONEY... I PUT JUST AS MUCH AS I NEED IT TO SPEND... WE ARE SMALL PEOPLE... BUT TOGETHER WE MAKES THE BANKERS BILLIONAIRES... Party

Va729
May 24, 2011 10:50PM
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Las Vegas, you are kidding right? They have such a huge glut of homes it will take twenty years to catch up. In the meantime no job prospects. Whoever wrote that piece is a total liar
NIGHT1
May 24, 2011 7:40PM
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THIS IS THEIR GAME... FIRST PROBLEM IS US... WE ( OFF CORSE NOT ME, NEVER BELIEVE ANYTHING ON INTERNET,TV, ETC...) BELIEVE WHATEVER THEY FEEDING US... YOU THINK WE ARE LIVING IN TRUE SPIKING PEOPLE WORLD...??? THEY CAN SAY ANYTHING THEY WANT... THEY CONTROL EVERYTHING, NEWSPAPERS, BANKS, FINANCES...TODAY ADVERTIZING TO GET THEIR GOAL IS NOT DIRECTLY... THEY WANT TO SELL SOMETHING, THEY TALK ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE FOR YOU... YES THERE ARE SO MANY BEAUTIFUL PLACES FOR LIVING, BUT IS THERE ANY JOB FOR US TO WORK AND LIVE IN COMFORT... BY WATCHING TO THIS ARTICLE, THE ONLY THING WHAT APPEARED IN MY MINT, IT WAS... THEY WANT TO ENCOURAGE US TO GO FOR BUY A HOUSE, TO PUT DOWN WHATEVER WE HAVE, TO GIVE THEM OUR LAST PENNY TO GET IN THE HOUSE, BUT WHO CARES WE WILL BE ABLE TO KEEP THE HOUSE OR NO... THEY GOT A BIG AMOUNT OF DOWN PAYMENT, IF WE COULD KEEP THE HOUSE THEY GET THEIR PROFIT, IF NO... IN 3 MOUNTS THEY WILL TAKE THE HOUSE AND GAME BEGINS AGAIN... SELLING TO SOMEBODY ELSE TO GET ANOTHER DOWN PAYMENT AND SO ON...
Lexapro
May 24, 2011 6:26PM
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Most Dem. cities and States are in the toilet, economically, and will get worse! rising taxes, utilities, property taxes, schools, unions, corruption! welcome to demonrat hell. Cleveland just raised their water rates 82%!!!!!!!!!
NIGHT1
May 24, 2011 8:29PM
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THERE IS A FUNNY STORY ABOUT A WELTY MAN AND HIS POOR FRIEND...

ON DAY THE RICH MAN TAKE HIS POOR FRIEND TO SHOW HIM HIS NEW HOUSE ON TOP OF THE HILL... HE SHOWED EVERYWHERE AND THEN HE SAID THIS IS MY LIVING ROOM AND SEE HOW BEAUTIFUL VIEW I HAVE... WHOLE CITY IS UNDER MY FEET... SUDDENLY HIS POOR FRIEND TURNED TO HIM AND SAID... IF WE POOR PEOPLE WERE NOT LIVING IN THOSE SMALL APARTMENT TO TURN A LIGHT EVERY NIGHT, THEN WHERE WOULD YOUR VIEW CAME FROM...LOOOOOOOOOOL.​..

SO THERE IS A BIG IDEA HIDDEN IN THIS SMALL FUNNY STORY... Birthday cake

Perfumes West (Valued Customer)
May 24, 2011 6:52PM
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where are you moving LEXAPRO?  SOUNDS LIKE THE PLACE NOT TO BE!
Meggis1
May 25, 2011 2:22AM
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 I have never let the media control my attitude about anything, Chances are if television says it is good, it isn't. We have worked hard but, smart at the same time. We have no problem with credit because we use it wisely. We let it work for us instead of making someone else rich with interest. Our home is a place to live and feel comfortable. It is not a museum, a show place or a piggy bank. We travel & dine out but do it thoughtfully and use coupons. Why pay a retail price for anything? We have no problem buying used. BOGO is our mantra and actually did it recently with a washer/dryer. My husbands car is ten years old. Mine is fourteen. Why replace some big item if it is still in good shape??? I don't understand people who buy new furniture every few years or cars...We were lucky in our careers but still fought for everything and never cheated a  soul...I am sorry for the state of the economy but, for all you like minded people out in cyberspace, we understand that it

will get better.  Hang on everyone and don't be afraid to ask for discounts...No merchant will lose money. They may actually be willing to earn a little less to make a sale... Now is the time to be bold in this respect...

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