Thanks to rising home prices and elevated mortgage rates, it’s now cheaper to rent than it is to buy a home in all of America’s biggest metropolitan areas, according to a new report by Realtor.com.
In its February monthly rent report, the company found that it’s more affordable to rent than to buy a home in all of the top 50 metro areas in the U.S.
While it was already cheaper to rent than to buy in 90% of metro areas as of last year, a hot real-estate market has pushed that to 100%.
And it’s the first time that has happened since Realtor.com began tracking renting versus buying in 2021.
“With rents continuing to fall and the cost of buying a home remaining high” due to mortgage rates and home prices, “renting a home is now a more cost-effective option in all major U.S. markets,” Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, said in a statement.
Realtor.com is operated by News Corp subsidiary Move Inc., and MarketWatch publisher Dow Jones is also a subsidiary of News Corp NWS, 0.20% NWSA, 0.13%.
