Is it cheaper to rent a home rather than buy?

With housing prices at record highs, a new study suggests that it’s now more affordable to rent a home rather than buy one. NBC’s Christine Romans joins TODAY to break down the numbers.

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#home #realestate #money

[danieldavid]

*The narrative is now trying to spin that renting is better than buying. Don’t drink the juice people - I know it’s hard, but keep working towards home ownership*

[jodyyoung]

They forgot insurance and property taxes...

[curiouspenguin]

Until the rent goes up or the owner decides to sell.

[debbiel]

Its the upkeep too. We need a roof. Last time 20 years ago it was 3, 500. Now it will be 11, 000.

[roachtoasties]

Why is Christine Romans comparing the rent of a one bedroom apartment to an average mortgage payment? Those mortgage payments are for a house or condo, not a one bedroom apartment. Anyway, there are lots of variables. If you're planning on staying put for a long time, buying should be better than renting, where your landlord can also increase your rent. In my area rents probably start at about $2, 000 for a one bedroom, but I have a three bedroom home where my property taxes and an HOA fee total about $460 per month. The reason why: The mortgage is now paid in full. Adding some extra in there for maintenance, and I'm still way far ahead, and I'm not even including the 100% home equity when I do sell.

[Rico]

👀 It’s not about what’s ‘cheaper’; it’s ALWAYS been about what’s “better”—this will obviously be subjective to each person, but we generally shouldn’t subscribe to always try & live cheap, but rather “good” & think beyond our current circumstances.

Not succumbing to the pressures of economics while improving & strengthening your revenue streams is an ideal way to move forward.

🏡 If you’re paying thousands of dollars toward someone else’s mortgage, you still get the lesser end of the stick after 10, 20, 30yrs of doing so.

[chuckkoehler]

Even if I switch to a teacher's salary (65k) later this year in Austin, as a single person it is hard to find any type of affordable housing to buy. I have a chance with a VA loan that might be lower if I can find a new house through a builder that offers lower interest rates.

[ninjanerdstudent]

The only reason to rent is if you are planning to move when the lease ends.

[pswire]

If you see what's happening it looks more like the old "Company town" model is coming back, where corporations built and owned the houses they rented to their workers, and also owned the stores that sold goods to the workers, and basically ran a town like a corporate fiefdom. Workers owned nothing and would keep working because they were afraid that being laid off would lead to eviction and homelessness pretty fast.

[lawless]

Thank God I bought my home in 2019 at a low interest rate of 2.3%.

[igorschmidlapp]

My first efficiency apartment was $150/month... back in 1980... ;-P

[ASD-DAD]

My 2 bedroom 1100 sqft apt in San Diego is only $3950.

[jondonut]

Its cheaper living in a converted van ❤
Boondocking ❤

[ryanyoder]

This makes being a landlord a losing proposition as it’s too hard to cover costs.

[scoobieamg]

Sure rent is $1K cheaper but you own nothing!

[joanndavis]

So at $2, 000 a month in say, 30 years of renting= $720, 000! Or just start off buying a home half that amount and live their for 30 years= Whatever that mortgage would be. But then you got to figure taxes, fluctuating interest, insurance, assessments, fees, maintenance, utility cost for anything bigger than an apartment, and then you're right back at $720, 000!

[Mlogan]

The question shouldn't be what is cheaper TODAY in buying vs renting, but what will be cheaper, 3, 5, 10+ years from now based on how long you're planning to stay in the area.
Home and rent prices will move together in tandem and home prices are rising, so will rent, which means in a rising market the home price costs today will likely be cheaper than rent being charged a few years down the line.

[jujub]

We couldn’t even afford to buy a home if we wanted

[phallondavenport]

That's what I am doing saving my money for a house. Eventually, the interest rate will come down one day

[ericinla]

I OWN 2 HOMES - Both paid off. So owning it for me is way cheaper.