Rent or Buy? There is a lot to consider for those given a choice. Renting does not bind you and does not require a large deposit. On the other hand, the purchase can be a worthwhile long-term investment with tax benefits. And let's not underestimate the comfort that comes with knowing that a landlord will not move your house away from you.
However, choice is almost always about money, and in today's hot seller market, a lack of available homes and skyrocketing prices have hampered many aspiring buyers. The downside is falling rents, especially in cities where landlords are struggling to occupy record numbers of vacant apartments through rent cuts and concessions. Although rents are showing signs of recovery, it is still a good time to sign a lease.
A recent study by LendingTree found that in all 50 of the largest US metropolitan areas, the median housing costs for tenants were lower than for homeowners with a mortgage. The biggest difference between the average rent and the average cost of owning a home with a mortgage was in New York City, at $ 1,363 per month. Next up were San Francisco and San Jose, California, with the rent-to-ownership gap exceeding $ 1,000.
To reach its conclusions, LendingTree compared median rents and mortgage housing costs with data from the Census Bureau. This week's chart shows the 10 metropolitan areas with the largest and smallest differences in housing costs for tenants and owners.
