Really depends on the apartment, what your short/medium term plans are, and what the housing market is like. I'm always hearing the "Renting is stupid, you're throwing money away!" line, but they fail to take into account the fact that as a renter, you don't pay for common repairs (leaky faucets, blocked drains, roof/siding, etc), you don't pay property tax, and often don't pay water/trash/sewer. Landscaping is generally taken care of, as is snow clearing. The New York Times has a pretty nice calculator w/ graphic to see where you'd break even. Suffice to say, with the housing market as it is, my "break-even" point is nearly 20 years out. By then, I expect to be screening my kids' dates, possibly halfway around the world.