[Bartweiss]

Yeah, running that tool produces exactly the opposite conclusion from the article. Renting is easily 50% higher than the break-even price provided.

An interesting experiment: go back and use the article's numbers for "what does the future hold?" That is, 2% home price growth, 2% rent growth, 8% investment returns. For me, those numbers say I could rent for $5,000 and come out ahead. Using the recent-history numbers for where I live, the price craters to $1,500.

I know the article says "circumstances may vary" a dozen times, but I think it's still pretty misleading, especially the P/R section. High and rising housing prices go hand in hand with large rent increases, and rent growth dominates pretty much everything else in this calculation.

[Simulacra]

I live outside of DC now and it's very expensive. Rent is constantly being pushed up and up, no matter how good of a tenant you are. I'm hoping to buy again later this year to lock in a stable monthly payment.