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Should You Rent Or Buy A Home?

By News Jan 8, 2021 | 10:04 PM

A lot of people believe buying a home is the American Dream, and while some love rentng, a new report suggests, depending on where you live, it really may be the right time to make that home purchase.

  • ATTOM Data Solutions’ 2021 Rental Affordability Report finds that it’s more affordable to own a three-bedroom property than to rent in 572 out of 915 U.S. counties, or 63% of the country.
  • And this is despite median home prices gong up more than average rent in 83% of those 572 counties.
  • Home ownership is actually more affordable in almost two-thirds of the country, mostly thanks to declining interest rates.
  • In 48% of the country, buying a three-bedroom home requires at least a third of average weekly wages.
  • In 55% of the country, renting a three-bedroom home requires at least a third of average weekly wages.

Other notes from the report include:

  • Ownng a home still isn’t that affordable in populated areas, with rentng more affordable than buying in 18 of the nation’s 25 most populated counties and in 29 of 44 counties with populatons over one millon.
  • Areas with over one millon where it’s more affordable to buy include Phoenix, Miami-Dade, and Las Vegas.
  • Owning a home is more affordable in 50% of the 94 counties with 500,000 to 999,999 people.
  • Areas where it’s more affordable to buy include St. Louis, Tampa and Milwaukee.
  • The most affordable markets for renting are mostly in the South and Midwest.
  • Roane County, Tennessee, outside of Knoxville, is the most affordable to rent, with only 18.4% of wages needed to rent.
  • The least affordable markets for owning include Marin County, CA, outside San Francisco, (105.6% of average wages needed to own) and Brooklyn, New York (101.3%)
  • If you prefer to rent, it is more affordable to do so in 18 of the country’s 25 most populated cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, San Diego and Orange Country, which is outside Los Angeles.
  • The least affordable areas to rent include Santa Cruz (82.9% of average wage) and Santa Barbara (68.7%).
  • Brooklyn, New York is the area with a population of at least one millon where it’s least affordable to rent (62.5%)

Source: Yahoo Finance