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Renting instead of an expensive mortgage can be the smart move, and as areas in Florida are  finding out, the right move. When housing prices get beyond what the market will bare for the middle and lower middle class can afford, rental discrepancies arise.

For example, Joe Fireman can afford a 250,000 dollar home in Florida. But the homes that he likes cost 400,000 dollars. Well, he can not afford to pay rent and have the landlord make any money in this situation and the landlord who owns the 400,000 dollar home can not find anyone to rent it at the price for him to  profit. So he ends up renting to the fireman at a rate  that Joe Fireman can afford and he can at least get some income off of the  property.

Welcome to the flip side of the housing boom, where renters can afford brand-new dream homes while landlords struggle to meet their monthly mortgage payments. According to local real-estate agents, condominiums and single-family homes throughout Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast are leasing for 30 to 50 percent less than the monthly costs, including property taxes and sky-high insurance premiums, of owning the same property.

In Riviera Beach, for instance, three-bedroom townhomes are renting for as low as $1,150 a month. Owning one would cost about $1,800 to $3,000 a month, after a 20 percent down payment.
In West Palm Beach, $400,000 townhomes are renting in the $1,500 range. Owning one would cost nearly twice that per month. In Lantana, a $450,000 three-bedroom condo with an Intracoastal view is available for $1,850 per month.
In Port St. Lucie, three-bedroom, $450,000 houses are renting for about $2,200, a third less than they would cost to own. And in Wellington, $800,000 homes that would cost nearly $6,000 per month to buy are renting for about $3,000.  via the Palm Beach Post.

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