In this current market... should I rent or sell my home?

[Digger Odell]

I'm closing on my new home at the end of this month. My original "plan" was to sell my current home, my boyhood home as it turns out, in the Spring after getting it ready. Being on this site, reading "How to Rent Your Home" by Jason Turner and listening to some of the podcasts has got me to thinking of renting it out for the time being. In the hopes the market will heat up in a few years and, perhaps, get me a better price than what I can get now. There are also four other homes on my street for sale in easy walking distance so a small "glut" has developed.

I paid cash for the new place figuring I'd recoup much, if not all, of the money selling my current house so that is one issue I have with doing a rental. The loss of interest on that investment. However, being parked in a mutual bond fund will still only get me around $500/month return. Rentals, in my area for my size house, are going for around $1500 to $1700. Clearly there is a difference.

Maybe I'm answering my own question but still would like to get some feedback on what others with more experience would do in a similar situation.