When trying to decide whether to buy a home or condo instead of continuing to rent, many would-be first-time home buyers compare the cost of buying a home or condo versus renting something similar. Granted, there are other benefits that come with ownership (along with some additional responsibilities and risks, of course) including potential return on the investment, stability, etc but, if the first thing often considered is the cost of a house payment versus rent…if difference is too large and, therefore, the sacrifice to buy is too great, the consideration of buying often ends at that point.
Is it more affordable to rent or buy a home in the St Louis area?
RealtyTrac just released a report this morning analyzing the cost of buying a home versus renting a home throughout the United States and found that buying a home is still more affordable than renting of 58 percent of U.S. housing markets in spite of the fact that home prices are rising at a greater percentage than rents in 55 percent of the markets analyzed.
Here is St Louis, of the 5 main counties that make up our market, as the table below shows, it is actually more affordable to buy a home in 3 of the five counties:
Search St Louis Homes For Sale HERE
See ALL Homes That Will Be Open In St Louis This Weekend
Chart Showing St Louis Home Prices Versus St Louis Rents