Renting Now Cheaper Than Owning In All Of America’s Largest Metros
A combination of higher mortgage rates and sky-high housing prices has made it cheaper to rent than to own a home in all of America’s largest metropolitan areas, according to a new report by Realtor.com.
The report, which tracks the top 50 metro areas in the US, found that while it was already cheaper to rent than buy in 90% of metros last year, it’s now pushed to 100% – the first time this has happened since Realtor.com began tracking renting vs buying three years ago.
“With rents continuing to fall and the cost of buying a home remaining high” thanks to mortgage rates and home prices, “renting a home is now a more cost-effective option in all major U.S. markets,” said Realtor.com chief economist, Danielle Hale.
To be sure, buying a house is a form of forced savings that builds wealth via an asset that appreciates over time. But the current market is too expensive for many Americans, given the steep rise in borrowing costs and home prices, relative to rents, in recent years.
For instance, the median rent in the New York–Newark–Jersey City metro area was $2,852, which was far cheaper than the $4,995 monthly cost of buying.
