• In new calculations that reflect the recent climb in rents, a company that provides real estate data found that home-buying is a better deal than renting in the largest 100 metro areas in the nation.
• Trulia reported that it found buying is 45% cheaper than renting for people who will stay in a house seven years after purchasing it. The company figured the average savings to be $771 a month. Seven years is the U.S. average time in one home.
• The company's chief economist, Jeff Kolko, said that numbers for August showed home prices nationally are up 3.8% from 2011 if you don't count market-depressing foreclosures (and only 2.3% if you do), while rents have risen 4.7%.

From the article:

It's more affordable to buy a home than to rent in the 100 largest metros in the nation. ...