Recent years of home appreciation alone makes for a strong argument on the buy side of the rent-vs-buy debate, but renting or buying, in the end, is a very personal decision based on one's financial plans, goals and needs.

To that end, the National Multi Housing Council has put a myth-busting spin on the perennial debate with an insightful brochure designed to help tip the scales over to the renting side.

"The tax savings and investment potential associated with home ownership are often overstated, while the costs of owning and maintaining a house are frequently understated," says Douglas M. Bibby. But then he's president of the National Multi Housing Council.

Even so, that's a gutsy statement given statistics from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO).

• Home price appreciation nationwide is up 7.7 percent in one year ending the first quarter 2004. That's several times greater than the rate of inflation.

• Home price appreciation in 11 states is up by double digits during the same period.

• Home price appreciation is up by more than 12 percent in the large Western region, also in the same period.

• Nationwide, home price appreciation has averaged a whopping 42 percent in the past five years.

Still, the council believes it has some tough pro-rental rebuttals in the new "Don't Buy the Myths: Renting Can Be a Smart Investment," consumer brochure.

"The best kept secret in the housing market is that renting is often the better financial choice. Researchers estimate that nearly 20 percent of house buyers would have saved money by renting, while another report by Harvard University concluded that 'in many places, at many times, and for many holding periods during the past 15 years, renting made better financial sense than owning,'" says Bibby.

Myths, says the council, prevent households from making the best financial choice when it comes to housing.

The myths include:

• Myth: Home buying reduces taxes. In reality, says the council, a majority of homeowners reap no annual tax benefits from owning a house.

• Myth: Paying rent is like dropping money in a black hole. For the first five years of ownership, so do homeowners, but the hole is the lender. Nearly one-third of all buyers move within five years -- before they start building any real equity, says the council.

• Myth: Dollar-for-dollar mortgage payments are less than rent. The council counters claiming the mortgage payment is only the beginning. Financing costs, insurance, property taxes, upkeep, repairs and other "hidden costs" of home ownership jack up the monthly payment and add thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs each year.

• Myth: For owners, housing costs remain constant with no worry about rent increases. The council says, while with a fixed mortgage rate your mortgage payment will remain constant, other incidental and reoccurring costs rise. Maintenance, insurance and property taxes can go up significantly every year. And, of course, an adjustable-rate mortgage payment itself can increase, as many are about to do now with rising interest rates.

• Myth: Investing in a house is a safe investment. The council says even in today's healthy housing market, stocks and bonds often still offer a better return.

Another gutsy statement given the relative weakness in the stock market compared to residential real estate appreciation.

In any event, with the rate of home ownership nationwide approaching 70 percent, renting, for many households, remains a tough sell beyond using it as a temporary housing choice.

Published: June 24, 2004

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A journalist for 35-years, Broderick Perkins parlayed an old-school daily newspaper career into a digital news service offering editorial content and consulting services. Perkins' San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group includes the flagship news site, DeadlineNews.Com, offering real estate, personal finance and consumer journalism, and a backshop, the Deadline Newsroom.