你应该买房还是租房?

Here are some questions to consider when deciding if buying or renting is the right choice for you:

在决定买房还是租房最适合你之前，或许可以先考虑以下这些问题：

How long do you plan to stay in your home? "There are high transaction costs associated with buying and selling a house," says Dean Baker, co-director at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, so home buyers should plan to stay put for at least four to five years.

你打算在新买的房子里住多久？经济与政策研究中心(Center for Economic and Policy Research)联席主任迪安·贝克(Dean Baker)说，“买卖房产交易费用很高，”因此如果打算购房的话，至少要打算住个四五年才划算。

The reasoning? The costs for buying and then selling a home -- which can include a real-estate agent's fee, a transfer fee, closing costs, and inspector and surveyor fees -- could add up to about 10% of the sale price, or roughly 1½ years worth of rent. 'If you average that over 10 years, it is not that big a deal,' says Mr. Baker. 'But if you average it over, say two years, you're paying an awful lot of money to own a house for a short period of time.'

原因何在呢？买了房子再卖掉所需的费用──包括房产中介费、过户费、买卖手续费、验房师和估价师的费用──杂七杂八加在一起大约是房价的10%，或者大致相当于一年半的房租。贝克说，“如果你把这个费用分摊到10年，那就不算什么大数目，不过如果要分摊到比如两年，那就意味着，你要为短时间拥有一个房子付出很大的价钱。”

Can you handle the monthly expense? While a monthly mortgage payment may be comparable in some cases to a monthly rent, there are other expenses to consider.

每月所需费用你可以承担吗？虽然有些情况下，月供跟你每月租房的费用差不多，不过买了房子之后，除了月供之外，还会产生其他一些费用。

To get a feel for the financial burden you'll be taking on -- and to see if you can handle it -- 'practice' making payments. Each month, set aside projected mortgage and property-tax payments, maintenance costs, utilities and any other home-related expenses into a separate savings account, says Gary Smola, a certified financial planner with financial-educational firm Financial Finesse.

要切身体会买房后的经济负担──也是为了看看你能否承担得起──“演练”一下每月还款吧。理财教育公司Financial Finesse的注册理财规划师加里·斯莫拉（Gary Smola）说，可以每个月把预期的月供、房产税、维修费用、公共事业费及其他与房子相关的费用单独存入一个账户。

What's the price-to-rent ratio? Home prices have come down significantly in some areas of the country, but 'nobody knows what tomorrow's going to bring in the housing market,' says Daniel Morris, a certified public accountant in San Jose, Calif.

房屋租售比如何？加利福尼亚圣何塞的注册公共会计师丹尼尔·莫里斯(Daniel Morris)说，在美国有些地区，房产的价格跌得非常厉害，不过“谁也不知道房产市场下一步走势如何。”

To determine whether it makes more financial sense to buy or rent in your area, compare home sales prices with the cost of renting a similar place.

要想判断你所在地区是买房划算还是租房划算，可以将房价与同类房屋的租价做一个比对。

Divide the price of the home by the total cost of rent for one year. If the result is more than 20, 'I'd be very concerned that the price [of the home] might fall more,' says Mr. Baker, and you should consider waiting to buy. If it's 15 or below, he says, 'you're probably reasonably safe' with prices holding steady or growing.

贝克认为，如果将房价除以一年的租价得出的结果大于20，“我就会担心房价极有可能还会再跌，”你就应该考虑再观望些时候了。他说，如果结果小于等于15，“买入应该还是相当安全的，”因为房价会保持稳定，甚至还会上升。

What is your job and relationship status? Twentysomethings are still getting a grasp on their futures and a constantly changing lifestyle might require the flexibility of renting.

你目前的工作如何，跟伴侣的关系如何？二十几岁的人群还是在事业打拼阶段，个人生活方面也经常会有变动，也许还是租房这种灵活的方式更适合他们。

But 'if your career stability is strong, you are comfortable doing what you're doing and you are committed in some form to your lifestyle,' Mr. Morris says, buying a home becomes a more attractive option.

莫里斯说，不过，“如果你的工作非常稳定，你对现状非常满意……个人生活方面也相对稳定，”那么买房就是更有吸引力的选择。