It’s hard to imagine the American dream as a two-bedroom [tag]apartment[/tag] with a pool, instead of a [tag]single-family home[/tag] with a white picket fence. But in some of the nation’s priciest r[tag]eal estate market[/tag]s, that’s what’s happening. The financial reasons for renting instead of buying are the strongest they’ve been in 25 years.

The market was thrown out of kilter during the five-year real estate boom. Renters stampeded at the sight of an “open house” sign, trying to buy anything they could afford. Prices soared by 40%, and by even more along the coasts and in such places as Las Vegas and Phoenix. Landlords couldn’t raise rents as fast, so many apartment owners simply gave up and converted their buildings into condos for sale.

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