1. More mobility. This is especially true in depressed market conditions like where experiencing right now. If you are living in a depressed market like Detroit and  need to move to get a job, good luck selling or renting your house to recoup your losses. In a bad job market, flexibility is key.

2. Depreciation. With all the uncertainty in the housing market today it may be better to wait. It’s impossible to time the housing market so that you buy at the exact bottom and once the market does hit bottom, you’ll have plenty of time to buy so why rush in. It’s better to buy once things have stabilized and so far that doesn’t seem to have happened yet.

3. Owning a House is more Stressful. This may seem like a weird thing to consider but it’s simply true. Owning a home has a lot more responsibility tied to it than renting does, some people are up to the responsibility some people aren’t. If your house needs a new roof, you better come up with the cash. If your air conditioner breaks in the middle of summer, hope you have a couple extra grand sitting around. Who doesn’t love mowing the law? The responsibilities of home ownership are endless.

4. Liquidity. Right now as unemployment is rising, housing is falling and the economy is still in turmoil, cash is king. If you tie up your money in a house, this is money you may not have for an emergency job loss or forced move.

5. Neighborhood deterioration. This is generally related to both 1 and 2 above, if you have the misfortune to buy in an area where there are no longer any jobs, people move out and vacant/foreclosed houses abound. Even if you manage to keep your job and pay your mortgage, your house has lost value and so has your entire neighborhood. In some cases entire cities are losing value. No one wants to live where there is no opportunity and no perceived value even if housing is cheap.