A report released by Trulia shows that, based on current market conditions, it is cheaper to buy a home than rent in 74 percent of major U.S. cities. At the top of the list is Las Vegas with a price rent ratio of 6 (the lower the number, the more affordable it is). At the other end of the spectrum, New York city leads the list of cities where it is cheaper to rent than buy with a price rent ratio six times higher than that of Las Vegas.“Many aspiring homeowners are on the fence about renting and buying in today’s market. Should they take advantage of falling home prices and low borrowing costs, or should they continue to rent until the economy stabilizes?” said Ken Shuman, Head of Communications at Trulia. “Price alone should never be the sole factor in deciding to purchase a home. Instead, buyers should first ask themselves if they plan to live in the home for at least seven-to-10 years, could make monthly payments on the house, and have enough cash in the bank for a down payment and an additional six to eight months worth of mortgage payments. If you can answer ‘yes’ to each of these questions, then the cost of buying a home definitely outweighs renting in most cities.”
Top Five Cities Where Buying Beats Renting
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# City State Price:Rent Ratio
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1 Las Vegas NV 6
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2 Detroit MI 7
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3 Mesa AZ 7
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4 Fresno CA 7
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5 Arlington TX 8
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Top Five Cities Where Renting is Cheaper than Buying
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# City State Price:Rent Ratio
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1 New York NY 36
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2 Fort Worth TX 32
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3 Omaha NE 27
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4 Seattle WA 24
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5 San Francisco CA 24
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Source: Trulia
To view the full report for all 50 cities, click here.
Check out the interactive data chart below that shows how the data that makes up the buy/rent ratio for each city has changed over the past 6 months:
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