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Erin and Matt Ahrens are about to move to a new home that they will be renting. But before they signed the lease, the debate was whether to rent or buy.

"Rental prices are falling, housing prices are also falling, but housing prices are still on a monthly basis," says Erin Ahrens. "Even if you look in the marketplace, you'll see an apartment for sale in one building, but the monthly cost is actually a lot more than the cost to rent it."

"Rent versus buy" seems to be what a lot of people are asking themselves now that real estate prices are down.

Angela Latigona, the couple's broker, finds that this year a number of her clients who were looking to buy have ended up renting.

She says it is important to determine how long you plan to be in the home. If you do not plan to live there for more than two years, it might not be worth the investment to buy.

"You have to remember there are certain fees that are associated with buying an home and selling a home versus renting," says Latigona. "They have the potential to be higher than that of renting, if you are only going to stay in the home for two years. Because you do have brokers fees, you have closing costs."

Buying gives you equity and a tax deduction, but she says if you're not a long term resident, it may not be cost effective from a monthly basis.

By comparison, the only fees in a rental are the application fee and a background check, along with a possible brokers' fee.

If you do plan to live in the home for a while, Latigona says this is a great time to trade up if you can.

"If you're in a one-bedroom right now and you would like to move to a two-bedroom, there couldn't be a better market to sell in," says Latigona. "You might not be able to sell your property at the 20 percent above what you purchased your property for a year ago, however you would be able to obtain a two-bedroom at a significant discount from 2008, 2007 pricing."

The Ahrens were originally looking to buy, but aside from being uncertain about the market, they did not find anything they loved. They feel that renting allows them to test drive a new neighborhood, where they may look to buy in later on.

Latigona recommends trying to negotiate the out clauses in the lease, so that if you find something to buy, you can easily make your move.