With housing prices down significantly in many parts of the country and interest rates low, it may be an affordable time for twentysomethings to buy that first home.

    In some instances, the price of owning can be comparable to renting in the long run. But a lot of uncertainty still remains about the housing market and the economy -- making the decision to buy more complicated.

    Nicole Stivers, a 24-year-old who works in public relations in Contra Costa County, Calif., purchased her first home with her fiancé in February. They were able to capitalize on what she calls a 'perfect storm' -- job stability, a desire to settle down, a surge in home foreclosures and the $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers.

    Still, the move was not without its concerns. 'Would we be able to afford this if we both lost our jobs? Do we have enough for a down payment? Do I have enough for moving? It's really nerve-racking when you're first doing it,' says Ms. Stivers.

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

    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.

    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 1? 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.'

    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.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    如今全美很多地方的房價都有了大幅下跌，銀行的利率又很低，似乎正是80后們購置人生第一套房產的好時機。

    有些情況下，買房跟長期租房的花費相差無幾。不過樓市和經濟依然有很多的不確定因素──所以要做出決定還是挺復雜的事情。

    妮科爾·斯蒂弗斯（Nicole Stivers）現年24歲，在加利福尼亞康特拉科斯塔縣（Contra Costa County）從事公關工作，今年2月跟未婚夫買下了他們的第一套房產。她稱目前的現狀為"完美風暴"──他們兩人工作穩定、希望安定下來，目前有大量的房產喪失止贖權，而且初次購房者可享受8,000美元的稅收減免──他們正好可以抓住這一時機。

    當然，他們做出這個決定也不完全就是高枕無 的。妮科爾說，"如果我們雙雙失業，還供得起房嗎？我們的錢夠首付嗎？我的錢夠搬家嗎？頭一次買房可真是傷腦筋。"

    在決定買房還是租房最適合你之前，或許可以先考慮以下這些問題：

    你打算在新買的房子里住多久？經濟與政策研究中心（Center for Economic and Policy Research）聯席主任迪安·貝克（Dean Baker）說，"買賣房產交易費用很高，"因此如果打算購房的話，至少要打算住個四五年才劃算。

    原因何在呢？買了房子再賣掉所需的費用──包括房產中介費、過戶費、買賣手續費、驗房師和估價師的費用──雜七雜八加在一起大約是房價的10%,或者大致相當于一年半的房租。貝克說，"如果你把這個費用分攤到10年，那就不算什么大數目，不過如果要分攤到比如兩年，那就意味著，你要為短時間擁有一個房子付出很大的價錢。"

    每月所需費用你可以承擔嗎？雖然有些情況下，月供跟你每月租房的費用差不多，不過買了房子之后，除了月供之外，還會產生其他一些費用。

    要切身體會買房后的經濟負擔──也是為了看看你能否承擔得起──"演練"一下每月還款吧。理財教育公司Financial Finesse的注冊理財規劃師加里·斯莫拉（Gary Smola）說，可以每個月把預期的月供、房產稅、維修費用、公共事業費及其他與房子相關的費用單獨存入一個賬戶。

    房屋租售比如何？加利福尼亞圣何塞的注冊公共會計師丹尼爾·莫里斯（Daniel Morris）說，在美國有些地區，房產的價格跌得非常厲害，不過"誰也不知道房產市場下一步走勢如何。"

    要想判斷你所在地區是買房劃算還是租房劃算，可以將房價與同類房屋的租價做一個比對。

    貝克認為，如果將房價除以一年的租價得出的結果大于20,"我就會擔心房價極有可能還會再跌，"你就應該考慮再觀望些時候了。他說，如果結果小于等于15,"買入應該還是相當安全的，"因為房價會保持穩定，甚至還會上升。

    你目前的工作如何，跟伴侶的關系如何？80后人群還是在事業打拼階段，個人生活方面也經常會有變動，也許還是租房這種靈活的方式更適合他們。

    莫里斯說，不過，"如果你的工作非常穩定，你對現狀非常滿意……個人生活方面也相對穩定，"那么買房就是更有吸引力的選擇。