Now Cheaper to Buy Than to Rent In Many Cities

As the national real estate slump deepens, home prices in many cities have crossed a worrisome milestone.

It's cheaper to buy a home than to rent one in 74 percent of the country's largest 50 cities, according to the real estate site Trulia -- findings that confirm the national epidemic of depressed housing prices remains in full swing.

Trulia's research, which compared the median list price and median rent for two-bedroom apartments, condos and townhomes in America's 50 largest cities, found that renting is more expensive than buying in dozens of markets, particularly in Miami and Las Vegas, as well as Mesa, New Mexico, and Arlington, Texas.