That would depend on many things. First off is how long you plan to stay in the area. Second, are your credit score and finances in good order for you to be a home owner. If your credit score is good enough to get an interest rate you can afford, I would definatly say ownership is the way to go. That is again if you will be in the area for a while. Renting tends to be a bit cheaper, and if something goes wrong you can generally rely on the owner/landlord to take care of repairs. However, any money you put into renting will never come back to you. Owning a home causes a few headaches at times, i.e. the previously mentioned repairs, but whatever you put into your home will usually increase the value of it and you may come out ahead when you go to sell your house. Also as the owner, you don't have to ask permission to make a change to the property to make it more comfortable to your needs or wants.
Source(s):
Current home owner, prior renter.

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If you have a pretty stable life, in most areas and in most times, home ownership is going to be better. You'll pay less money per month, and if you've made a careful purchase, you'll be building equity and your home will increase in value (or at least won't loose too much value).

Renting is smarter if you change jobs a lot; if home prices in your area are insanely inflated (less likely now than a couple of years ago); if your home life/relationship isn't stable. It can sometimes make sense if you have a definite idea of the kind of place you'd like to own but it isn't available and inexpensive, decent housing is (delayed gratification).

Where I live, rental homes will cost you three times what a normal mortgage for the same home would. Homes here were never inflated to the extent they were in other areas. So many people here own if it makes sense for them, which means it's pretty easy to find a nice rental--but not cheap! For the price of the rental on a basic ranch house, it's possible to own a 3,000+ sq. ft. house. So people renting here usually have fairly transient lives. They'll get a job here and rent while they're waiting to pass their trial period of their job, or until they have some positive sign it's going to be more permanent.
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The best thing I like about owning a home is that effectively you lock in the cost of having a roof over your head. This will vary as the interest rates move up and down. Say you buy a home now and your repayment on a mortgage is 1500 per month, in 20 years time you'll still be paying $1500 (assuming interest rates are the save/average), while renting is continually adjusted for inflation, and usually goes up every year.
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Right now, renting is definitely the better option for most people.
Source(s):
http://press.schumacherhomes.com

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