[economist-student]

Excellent analysis!

If it's fixed for 10 year it makes a lot of sense. Use the extra monthly savings and invest them in gold or a commodities index. That would be a good hedge against price swings in the RE market.

How big is the rent vs. own difference per month? A way to determine over valuation is by calculating in how many years it will take to recoup your investment by renting the property. For example, a $50,000 apartment rented at a about $500 will take less than 8 years (assuming no price inflation) to repay the principal.

[VegasCowboy]

Thanks!

The rent market here is a little murky, so I can't give you a good answer. Apartment rent has sky-rocketed because of a bunch of condo-conversions, and the detached market has a lot of dogs (so its hard to get a feel by reading the paper). However, I don't think the tax effected monthly cost of home ownership is out of line with rents right now based on purely anecdotal information.