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I bought a Hoboken NJ condo in 2002 and sold it in March 2005 and I'm now a renter. The decision to sell and rent was easy for a number of reasons.

1. The cash I got back from the sale generates enough interest to cover 1/2 the cost of my rent.

2. My interest income adjusted rent is about 60% of the monthly cost of my previous tax adjusted mortgage, taxes and association fees.

3. The apartment I am renting is 100 yards from the condo I sold and is 150 sq. ft larger. The rental and the condo have the exact same amenities.

4. The "not having a landlord" premium I paid to own compared to renting was largely non-existant. (ie. In the condo, my ability to make material changes to the floorplan footprint was mostly the same as the place I rent, which was nil. Single family houses, where the ability to add a kitchen or a pool might deserve a premium, but condos, which have the same expansion restraints as a rental, do not deserve such a large premium.)

5. My Rent increases 2.75% last year and will go up 3% this year. My landlord's ability to raise rents is constrained by the huge supply of new construction being built. Since the new construction is being bought by "investors" rather than permanent residents, new rentals open up regularly. My modest rent increases are not just apparent in retrospect but were anticipated when I saw the plans to increase the Hoboken condo supply in 2005.