Renting losing it's stigma?

Interesting article on CNBC on Friday titled "Rich Americans Ditch Home Ownership For Renting"

Apparently many affluent homeowners are switching to becoming home renters this year, not because they can't keep up with payments or they have lost their jobs, but because they are nervous about the state of the housing market.

The article quotes Patrick Lee, a managing director at a major bank, who says “I wanted to protect ourselves from prices going down. I didn’t want to be an owner anymore.”

Apparently demand for luxury rental units has increased as wealthier individuals who can afford to buy are deciding not to, according to brokers and real estate analysts in affluent areas of the country such as New York City, Chicago and San Francisco.

“More affluent Americans are opting to rent as oppose to buy,” says Jack McCabe, an independent real estate analyst and CEO of McCabe Research and Consulting in Deerfield Beach, Fla. “Within the last year, so many people have seen their family and friends get burned in real estate. They don’t see it as being a risk free investment as they used to.”

All across the US it appears there is a general attitude where potential buyers are in a huge 'wait and see' mode to assess if property values will continue to fall.

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