Rent or Buy?

The Los Angeles Times recently reported on the gradual shift the middle class has seen in terms of affordable, desirable housing in some of Los Angeles’ beautiful, verdant neighborhoods. It used to be that moving to a new city meant shopping for houses to purchase, gaining outdoor space, and moving on up in the real estate world. Nowadays, it’s more about scaling back, taking what you can get, and, well, settling.

On the other side of the country, New York has always been a tough market for getting what you want. Small apartments, lack of privacy and noise are part of the city’s fabric, so residents have grown accustomed to these features; the rest of the country can probably barely imagine enduring them!

One of the ways architects are tackling the housing problem is by building high-rise condos, because they combine both efficiency and luxury. There are rooftop gardens and basement garages that compensate for the compact apartment living aspect of cities. If you are planning a move, do you have a renting versus buying predicament? [The Los Angeles Times]