RISMedia
  • News
  • Premier
  • Reports
  • Events
  • Power Broker
  • Newsmakers
  • More
    • Publications
    • Education
No Result
View All Result
  • Agents
  • Brokers
  • Teams
  • Marketing
  • Coaching
  • Technology
  • More
    • Headliners New
    • Luxury
    • Best Practices
    • Consumer
    • National
    • Our Editors
Join Premier
Sign In
RISMedia
  • News
  • Premier
  • Reports
  • Events
  • Power Broker
  • Newsmakers
  • More
    • Publications
    • Education
No Result
View All Result
RISMedia
No Result
View All Result

Rents Cheaper in Cities, Homeownership in Rural Regions

Home Agents
By Jesse Williams
January 6, 2022
Reading Time: 2 mins read
Rents Cheaper in Cities, Homeownership in Rural Regions

Despite home prices that have continued to skyrocket and interest rates creeping up, owning a median-priced house remains more affordable than renting in a slim majority of U.S. counties, according to a new report from ATTOM Data Solutions—though in most large metros renting is cheaper.

In 58% of counties, the monthly cost of owning a home takes up a smaller percentage of an individual’s wages compared to monthly rental costs, the report found. At the same time, in 21 out of the 25 most populous counties, renting was the more affordable option.

“Home prices are rising faster than both rents and wages while wages rise faster than rents. And the housing market boom of the past decade keeps pushing home values to new records,” said Todd Teta, chief product officer at ATTOM, in a statement.

Analyzing over 1,100 counties around the country, the report found a correlation between population and the relative affordability of renting versus buying. Renting (using the fair market price of a three-bedroom property) was more affordable in 69% of counties with a population of above 1 million, while ownership was cheaper in 61% of counties with populations below 500,000.

Rents have continued to rise, but have overall been outpaced by wages in a narrow majority of the counties analyzed (55%). On the other hand, home prices have outpaced wage growth in a staggering 88% of counties, meaning if these trends continue, rentals will become relatively more affordable.

“Prices can only go up by so much more before renting becomes financially easier,” Teta said. “For now, though, rising wages and interest rates around 3% are enough to offset recent price run ups and keep ownership on the plus side of the affordability ledger compared to renting.”

Where You Live

Regionally, the most and least affordable markets were no surprise—the South and Midwest are most affordable both for rentals and homeownership, while the Northeast and West are less affordable in both situations.

Out of the 50 most affordable rental markets, 43 were in either the South or Midwest. The top five most affordable counties for ownership were all in the Midwest or South, including outlier large metros (populations greater than 1 million) where ownership was still relatively affordable as far as share of monthly wages.

Those metros were:

  • Wayne County (Detroit), Mich. (15.7% of average local wages needed to own)
  • Allegheny County (Pittsburgh), Pa. (20.1%)
  • Cuyahoga County (Cleveland), Ohio (22 %)
  • Philadelphia County, Pa. (25.5 %)
  • Harris County (Houston), Texas (28.9 %)

The least affordable counties for owning a home were:

  • Summit County (Breckenridge), Colo. (151.3% of average local wages needed to own)
  • Eagle County (Vail), Colo. (139.6%)
  • Marin County, Cali. (outside San Francisco) (121.9%)
  • Santa Cruz County, Cali. (112%)
  • Summit County, Utah (outside Salt Lake City) (111.2%)

As far as rentals, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Detroit all made the top five most affordable as well, making those regions some of the cheapest places to live overall. California dominated most expensive rentals, with four out of the five least affordable counties in that state.

Jesse Williams is RISMedia’s associate online editor. Email him your real estate news ideas to jwilliams@rismedia.com.

Tags: AffordabilityATTOM Data SolutionsFeatureHomeownershipIndustry NewsReal Estatereal estate newsRent
ShareTweetShare

Jesse Williams

Jesse Williams is a senior editor for RISMedia.

Related Posts

Inflation May Be Slowing, but so Is Consumer Spending
Agents

Inflation May Be Slowing, but so Is Consumer Spending

January 27, 2023
Pending Home Sales Snap Six-Month Decline With Pre-2023 Rebound
Agents

Pending Home Sales Snap Six-Month Decline With Pre-2023 Rebound

January 27, 2023
Mortgage Mix: Better Times May Be Ahead
Agents

Mortgage Mix: Better Times May Be Ahead

January 27, 2023
Frequency and Severity of E&O Lawsuits Against Real Estate Professionals Have Increased
Agents

Frequency and Severity of E&O Lawsuits Against Real Estate Professionals Have Increased

January 27, 2023
Tips for Property Tech-Tool Adoption
Agents

Tips for Property Tech-Tool Adoption

January 27, 2023
The 10 Best Markets for First-Time Homebuyers in 2023
Agents

The 10 Best Markets for First-Time Homebuyers in 2023

January 27, 2023

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Tip of the Day

The Great Housing Market Correction of 2023

For much of the past two-and-a-half years, it has been a housing market free-for-all, with bidding wars, multiple offers over... Read more.

Business Tip of the Day provided by

Recent Posts

  • Inflation May Be Slowing, but so Is Consumer Spending
  • Pending Home Sales Snap Six-Month Decline With Pre-2023 Rebound
  • Mortgage Mix: Better Times May Be Ahead

Categories

  • Spotlights
  • Best Practices
  • Advice
  • Marketing
  • Technology
  • Social Media

The Most Important Real Estate News & Events

Click below to receive the latest real estate news and events directly to your inbox.

Sign Up
By signing up, you agree to our TOS and Privacy Policy.

About Blog Our Products Our Team Contact Advertise/Sponsor Media Kit Email Whitelist Terms & Policies ACE Marketing Technologies LLC

© 2023 RISMedia. All Rights Reserved. Design by Real Estate Webmasters.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Premier
  • Reports
  • News
    • Agents
    • Brokers
    • Teams
    • Consumer
    • Marketing
    • Coaching
    • Technology
    • Headliners New
    • Luxury
    • Best Practices
    • National
    • Our Editors
  • Publications
    • Real Estate Magazine
    • Past Issues
    • Custom Covers
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Podcasts
    • Event Coverage
  • Education
    • Get Licensed
    • REALTOR® Courses
    • Continuing Education
    • Luxury Designation
    • Real Estate Tools
  • Newsmakers
    • 2022 Newsmakers
    • 2021 Newsmakers
    • 2020 Newsmakers
    • 2019 Newsmakers
  • Power Broker
    • 2022 Power Broker
    • 2021 Power Broker
    • 2020 Power Broker
    • 2019 Power Broker
  • Join Premier
  • Sign In

© 2023 RISMedia. All Rights Reserved. Design by Real Estate Webmasters.

X