Still the Land of the Renters

Though the housing bust has made it so that even long-time renters are jumping onto the homeowning bandwagon — it's just so cheap! — in certain places renting has stayed the more sensible option. Count San Francisco among places like Seattle and parts of Manhattan, where prices are still beyond the reach of many mortals. On the other hand, in places like L.A., Chicago, and South Florida, a magic housing price to annual rent price ratio tells us that buying has become much better than renting in the last five years. [NYT]