Rents for SFHs are falling in my area, which is close to the L.A./Ventura county line. Something to keep in mind!! A house the pencils out as a “buy” based on a rent vs. buy calculation today, may end up being a lousy deal if rents drop appreciably in the next couple of years.

I have to admit that the 3B apartment is a clever proxy for areas where the SFH rental market is too thin to ascertain a market value. Of course, whatever the market 3B-apt rents are, you have to inflate them by some factor. The reason for this is that a 4B or 5B detached house with a nice yard in a quiet neighborhood is much more valuable to me, and possibly to you too, than a 3B apartment.