As long as you plan to stay put for at least 2.5 years, you are better off financially to buy a home in St. Louis versus renting a home, according to a new report by Zillow. On a national level, the average that you needed to stay in a home before buying a home made sense over rental was 3 years.
In calculating the “cost” of owning or renting a home, Zillow took into account the down payment (or deposit), mortgage and rental payments, transaction costs, property taxes, utilities, maintenance costs, tax deductions and opportunity costs, while adjusting for inflation and forecasted home value and rental price appreciation. The table below shows the results for the 30 largest metro areas in the U.S.
| 30 Largest Metropolitan Areas Covered by Zillow | Avg. Breakeven Horizon (yrs.) | City Level Variance | ||
| High | Low | |||
| New York | 5.1 | 24.1 | 1.4 | |
| Los Angeles | 4.3 | 14.0 | 1.7 | |
| Chicago | 2.8 | 13.3 | 1.0 | |
| Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas | 2.1 | 10.6 | 1.0 | |
| Philadelphia | 3.0 | 11.1 | 1.0 | |
| Washington | 3.5 | 9.5 | 1.3 | |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Fla. | 1.6 | 6.6 | 1.0 | |
| Atlanta | 2.5 | 7.7 | 1.1 | |
| Boston | 4.3 | 16.5 | 2.1 | |
| San Francisco | 5.9 | 24.3 | 2.0 | |
| Detroit | 1.7 | 11.2 | 1.0 | |
| Riverside, Calif. | 2.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 | |
| Phoenix | 1.7 | 4.8 | 1.0 | |
| Seattle | 4.0 | 20.7 | 2.3 | |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn. | 2.7 | 12.8 | 1.1 | |
| San Diego | 3.6 | 6.8 | 1.1 | |
| Tampa, Fla. | 1.6 | 3.9 | 1.0 | |
| St. Louis | 2.5 | 11.3 | 1.0 | |
| Baltimore | 2.8 | 25.8 | 1.9 | |
| Denver | 2.5 | 6.8 | 1.5 | |
| Pittsburgh | 2.1 | 12.7 | 1.0 | |
| Portland, Ore. | 3.5 | 5.3 | 1.4 | |
| Sacramento, Calif. | 3.1 | 12.6 | 1.2 | |
| Orlando, Fla. | 1.7 | 4.1 | 1.0 | |
| Cincinnati, Ohio | 2.1 | 11.8 | 1.0 | |
| Cleveland | 2.4 | 16.9 | 1.6 | |
| Las Vegas | 1.7 | 2.7 | 1.3 | |
| San Jose, Calif. | 8.3 | 27.2 | 2.6 | |
| Columbus, Ohio | 2.4 | 8.3 | 1.5 | |
| Charlotte, N.C. | 2.7 | 4.3 | 1.4 | |
Source: Zillow
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