“Should I rent or buy?” is a question I get asked a lot these days. As always it depends on so many personal factors and the specifics of your market. But I found this news to be very interesting: according to a recent study by the real estate website Trulia.com, home ownership is actually cheaper than renting – at least in the case of a two bedroom home – in 72% of major US cities. That’s right, owning is cheaper than renting in most cities in America!
Should we be surprised at this? Not if we consider that many people have become new renters in the last few years – some by choice and some out of necessity – and this has caused rental rates to go up in some areas as demand pushes prices higher. So which cities are cheaper for renters than buyers? The top four are New York, Seattle, Kansas City and San Francisco. Housing prices in these markets still price out many buyers making renting the cheaper, and in some case, only option for many people.
What about the top cities where buying is cheaper than renting? Miami, Arlington, TX, Las Vegas, and Mesa, AZ.