With the slowdown in the housing market, stricter mortgage-lending standards and rising home foreclosures, renters are more easily answering the question: "Why rent when you can own?" Such a question was common during the housing boom, when homeowners, happy with the gains their homes were making -- at least on paper -- would urge non-property-owner friends to join the party.

The conventional real estate wisdom holds that owning a home is a better investment than renting. Real-estate values tend to appreciate over time (despite temporary negative blips in home prices) and homeowners who hold mortgages -- at least those who financed with fixed-rate loans -- know exactly what their monthly housing payments will be for the length of their loan. Renters don't have the same certainty as rates may increase during renegotiation after their current lease expires.

But some renters, especially with the housing slump, say that it is easier these days to cope up with price hikes when they renew a lease.. Several areas across the U.S. that saw substantial home-price appreciation during the housing boom also experienced steep property-tax increases, and mortgage costs for adjustable-rate or subprime loan borrowers can be tough as rates push higher. What's more, home buyers who bought at the top of the market can find themselves with high mortgage payments for an asset that has lost much of its value. With the housing market in flux, it makes sense to hold off on buying, renters say. Now, these renters are asking, "Why own when you can rent?"

Marc Savitt, president-elect of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, says that many first-time buyers, at least those he encounters at The Mortgage Center in Martinsburg, W. Va, are choosing to remain renters over taking out unfavorable home loans. About 75% of prospective buyers decide to postpone buying when informed that waiting to do so could garner them lower rates, he says.

Today, people are selling their house not because they lose their job, transferring to another state or just came from a divorce. One reason which is becoming popular these days is that it is more economical to rent than own a home.

A couple opted to lease a property in San Francisco after selling their property. The new neighborhood is nicer and affords him a faster commute for the husband. Plus, their two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment has city and San Francisco Bay views and includes a garage parking spot and off-street parking. While the rent is a steep $3,000 a month, he says the price of owning a comparable home in his area -- where home prices start at $2 million -- is three times higher.

To put their cash to good use, they invested his profits from the home's sale in the stock market, where assets are more liquid, easier to transfer or sell during market fluctuations than in real-estate.