To Buy or Not to Buy?

A tool at The New York Times Web site calculates whether it's better to buy or rent, based on increases or decreases in home prices and rental costs.

The tool indicates how long it takes for buying a home to pay off over time compared to renting a home. There are interactive controls to set the rate of rises or declines in prices and rent. The data source for the tool is Moody's Economy.com.

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