Renters pay $792/mo less than buyers across 50 cities, but here’s where affordability is returning

The latest realtor.com data shows renters pay $792/mo less than buyers across 50 major cities, but there are cities where buying is better.

In the image above, I’m showing the top 5 cities where the rent vs. buy spread is biggest, and also the top 5 cities where it’s cheaper to buy than rent.

The link below has the full city list, and while this is a useful guidepost, it’s not how you make rent vs. buy decisions.

You do that by talking to a lender — which is free — and having them tell you how much home you can afford in your desired city based on your income, savings, and career track.

Federal regulations allow lenders to be more flexible than you might think.

And remember when you see headlines about home prices dropping, it doesn’t mean the market is crashing like the headlines often imply. Nationally, home prices rose an astronomical 41% during the pandemic, so there’s definitely room for prices to drop — and of course, this works in favor of buyers.

There are other clear signals of a buyer’s market emerging, so check back shortly and I’ll post some of that data.

Please comment or reach out with questions.

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Reference:

– Realtor.com® December Rental Report: Renting Costs Nearly $800 Less Per Month than Buying