In today's housing market, is it better to rent or to buy? Why?

• Fast-rising home prices and higher mortgage rates have made it cheaper to rent a home than buy and own one.
• The monthly costs of buying and owning a home that you occupy are up 14 percent over the past year, more than three times the annual increase in rent rates nationally, according to Realtor.com. Rents are up just 4 percent.
• Renting and reinvesting the savings from renting, on average, will outperform owning and building home equity, in terms of wealth creation.

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It depends on the market forces itself and the person's ability, for example, in the Egyptian market, most able people are prefered to buy instead of rent as a way of good investment.  

There is no clear answer about renting vs. owning. It depends on your individual circumstances. When you rent, others are responsible for maintenance and taxes. Nowadays, rents do not include utilities.

Fast-rising home prices and higher mortgage rates have shifted the calculation to rent. The monthly costs of buying and owning a home that you occupy are up 14 percent over the past year, more than three times the annual increase in rent rates nationally, according to realtor.com. Rents are up just 4 percent. The number of local housing markets where it is cheaper to rent than buy is growing by the day.