Cheaper To Buy A Home Rather Than Rent? Not Anymore

In a twist to the long-standing belief that buying a home is more financially savvy than renting, a recent study from Redfin Corp RDFN tells a different story.

What Happened: Today, in all but four major U.S. metros, it is notably more costly to buy a home than to rent one.

Among the 50 most populous metros, Detroit, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Houston are the only areas where it is cheaper to purchase a property, according to Redfin's analysis.

Detroit leads with home ownership costing 24% less than renting, while Houston scrapes by with a 1% discount.

On a housing level, 80% of properties in Detroit are cheaper to buy than rent, while 59% of homes in Philadelphia are cheaper, followed by Cleveland's 57% and Houston at 52%.

Nationwide homebuyers face an additional expense of 25% compared to renters, turning traditional advice on its head.

The trend is attributed to stagnating home values in the aforementioned outlier metros, a discouraging factor for prospective homeowners eyeing equity growth. Taylor Marr, Redfin's Deputy Chief Economist, said the stagnation can lead to more wealth equality due to increased home ownership, but also warns of lower equity accumulation for residents in those areas.

The possibility of a shift back to a more balanced housing market largely depends on the future direction of mortgage rates. For buying to be more affordable than renting elsewhere in the U.S., mortgage rates would need to plummet significantly, Marr said.

If the 30-year-fixed mortgage rate dipped to 5%, the homeownership premium would drop to 10%. If it sank to 3%, the economist noted it would actually be 7% cheaper to rent.

Marr predicted a decrease below the current 6% mortgage rates by year-end, which signals a potential end of the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes.

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