Renting is now cheaper than owning in all of America’s 50 biggest metro areas

[BackInTheGame78]

A home I purchased as a rent in 2017 for $200k is now work $515k and shoots off over 70k a year in rents. I think you are mistaken.

I am not taking about something bought at low interest rates in 2017 and low dollars.

I am talking about a house purchased today at high prices, with high interest rates and high inflation.

Inflation may help those who already own houses but it is definitely not helping new homeowners but houses.

 

[BaronOfHair]

Yeah it was soooo much better for Gen X! We had it soooo easy…

It was this way all through the 90’s kids:

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/renting-is-now-cheaper-than-owning-in-all-of-americas-50-biggest-metro-areas-8cd4cd03

 

[RickTheToad]

I am not taking about something bought at low interest rates in 2017 and low dollars.

I am talking about a house purchased today at high prices, with high interest rates and high inflation.

Inflation may help those who already own houses but it is definitely not helping new homeowners but houses.

2017 interest rate was 5.25%. Not sure what you are talking about of low interest rates dude. I purchased another one last year at 5.8%. It nets me 1800 a month. Respectfully, you are unaware of the real estate market and how it works.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

2017 interest rate was 5.25%. Not sure what you are talking about of low interest rates dude. I purchased another one last year at 5.8%. It nets me 1800 a month. Respectfully, you are unaware of the real estate market and how it works.

And you didn't refinance for under 3% interest rates a few years later?

Seems like you may be the one unaware of how much that ends up costing you in extra interest over the term of the loan.

I'm aware that house prices arent going to keep going up forever and like anything else that which goes up, eventually must come down.

The only question will be who is going to be the one holding the bag when it happens.

Or don't you remember how many Americans were underwater in their houses not even 20 years ago. You would be foolish to think that's never going to happen again.

 

[EyeBRollin]

I'm aware that house prices arent going to keep going up forever and like anything else that which goes up, eventually must come down.

They will keep going up. There is a finite supply of land for the increasing demand for housing that is concentrated in a few prosperous metropolitan areas.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

They will keep going up. There is a finite supply of land for the increasing demand for housing that is concentrated in a few prosperous metropolitan areas.

For now. You are making assumptions that will always be the case. It likely will not as the birth rate keeps dropping with no sign of slowing down anytime soon. Eventually as more and more people die and less and less people replace them it ends up equalling out. Might take 50 years or more, but it's likely going to happen.

 

[RickTheToad]

And you didn't refinance for under 3% interest rates a few years later?

Seems like you may be the one unaware of how much that ends up costing you in extra interest over the term of the loan.

I'm aware that house prices arent going to keep going up forever and like anything else that which goes up, eventually must come down.

The only question will be who is going to be the one holding the bag when it happens.

Or don't you remember how many Americans were underwater in their houses not even 20 years ago. You would be foolish to think that's never going to happen again.

Nope, never. It's not worth the costs for refinancing. I purchased my 1st home during those times. I sold it two years ago for a 70k profit. I then purchased a foreclosure for half the value that it was really worth for cash. I am not a fan of paying banks to live in my home.

Location, location, dude. I only sold it because I wanted to move to a better area, and my renters are still paying my mortgage off.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

Nope, never. It's not worth the costs for refinancing. I purchased my 1st home during those times. I sold it two years ago for a 70k profit. I then purchased a foreclosure for half the value that it was really worth for cash. I am not a fan of paying banks to live in my home.

Location, location, dude. I only sold it because I wanted to move to a better area, and my renters are still paying my mortgage off.

The location that's hot today isn't always the one hot when you go to sell.

 

[RickTheToad]

They will keep going up. There is a finite supply of land for the increasing demand for housing that is concentrated in a few prosperous metropolitan areas.

There are a lot of housing complexes supposedly being built around NYC. It may help bring the rents and home prices down a bit, but not at any significant way.

 

[RickTheToad]

The location that's hot today isn't always the one hot when you go to sell.

Pretty sure it was a safe bet in Stamford... Ask anyone. 20 years ago, Stamford wasn't so nice. Now, it's on its way to becoming the largest city in Connecticut.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

Pretty sure it was a safe bet in Stamford... Ask anyone. 20 years ago, Stamford wasn't so nice. Now, it's on its way to becoming the largest city in Connecticut.

That's not saying much...I mean what's it's competition, Hartford?

 

[RickTheToad]

That's not saying much...I mean what's it's competition, Hartford?

Greenwich, Darien, New Canaan, Westport, Southport, Trumbull, Fairfield, West Hartford, Ridgefield, Danbury (iffy in some areas though).

 

[Pierce Manhammer]

With near perfect credit, my first mortgage was 14.7% that was 1992 and it was a veterans loan so that guaranteed me to get one of the best rates around. So stop talking out your third point of contact.

 

[EyeBRollin]

Greenwich, Darien, New Canaan, Westport, Southport, Trumbull, Fairfield, West Hartford, Ridgefield, Danbury (iffy in some areas though).

To those who don’t know, these are mostly commuter cities and towns outside of NYC.

Hard to beat NYC area real estate…

 

[jaygreenb]

Greenwich, Darien, New Canaan, Westport, Southport, Trumbull, Fairfield, West Hartford, Ridgefield, Danbury (iffy in some aThisreas though).

This made me laugh, one of my best friends is from Danbury, definitely iffy lol I went to UCONN

 

[RickTheToad]

This made me laugh, one of my best friends is from Danbury, definitely iffy lol I went to UCONN

They have a nice mall though.

 

[jaygreenb]

They have a nice mall though.

I never actually been, just seen the cast of characters who would come up to visit. Every single one of them including my buddy had a felony or was on the run lol This was twenty yrs ago though

 

[HaleyBaron]

A house is a trap as far as I am concerned. They are currently too expensive and that has everything to do with the crappy dollar that our economy rests on [waiting for it to crash for good and to get rid of that stupid central bank]. 2008 says hi.

I'm renting for now. No, I am not putting any money toward that house yes, but at the same time, I consider that a better deal than being in servitude to the bank with an evil mortgage.

 

[sangheilios]

Well yes, the value of buying a house is that you need a place to live no matter what.

I think something a lot of people are missing is that if you have a mortgage your "rent" is fixed, assuming you didn't get a variable interest rate. During the pandemic and the years following it there have been massive increases in rent prices in many cities. It wasn't unusual for someone's rent to go from say $1200 to $1800 for instance.

I believe that owning/having a mortgage is a solid plan for most people if they can afford it and not be "house poor". Aside from what I mentioned above, it's a very safe long term investment tool for the average person. Most people are terrible with investing/saving, but something like this slowly over time allows them to build up equity. There's also a large possibility that they will see the value of their house grow overtime, there are exceptions to this of course though. I agree with your sentiment that you need a place to live no matter what, so it's kind of a no brainer if you can afford it. The problem right now is that the cost of homes is very high and grown tremendously in many once lower cost of living states over the last few years. In addition to this, interest rates for mortgages are quite high as well, it's not a great market for first time buyers looking to get in.

Renting has a time and place for sure. If you aren't planning on staying in your location for at least a few years it's typically a better move. Most places are wildly overpriced when it comes to rent and many are just absolute trash. Some of these complexes will consider themselves 'luxury apartments" because they have a damn grill or some **** like that lol. I can't imagine paying 2k per month for some crappy apartment when there's trash everywhere, people making noises at all hours of the night and early morning or when they are doing construction work at the crack of dawn. I'd especially say it's way worse if you live in one of the large apartment complexes, where they are multi floored and have dozens of units in one building.

 

[Pierce Manhammer]

Ah, the age-old debate: to rent or to own? While it's tempting to champion homeownership as the ultimate path to financial security, let's not overlook the glaring flaws in this argument.

Sure, having a fixed mortgage can feel like winning the housing lottery, especially when rent prices are skyrocketing faster than Elon Musk's SpaceX rockets. But before we crown homeownership as the undisputed champion, let's consider a few inconvenient truths.

For starters, buying a home isn't exactly a walk in the park for everyone. In many cities, the cost of entry is so high that it might as well come with a "rich people only" sign. And let's not forget about those pesky little things called maintenance costs, which can turn your dream home into a money pit faster than you can say "HGTV renovation gone wrong."

And while it's true that owning a home can build equity over time, it's not exactly a guaranteed cash cow. The housing market is about as predictable as a coin flip, and there's always the risk of ending up underwater on your mortgage faster than you can say "housing bubble."

But hey, who needs diversification when you can dump all your hard-earned cash into a single asset and cross your fingers? Forget about stocks, bonds, or anything remotely sensible. We're all in on real estate, baby!
And let's not even get started on the quality of rental properties. Sure, some apartments might resemble a frat house after a wild party, but there are plenty of gems out there if you know where to look.

Plus, renting offers the ultimate flexibility for those of us who aren't ready to settle down in one place or commit to a lifetime of DIY disasters.

So, before you go all-in on the homeownership hype train, take a step back and consider the full picture. Because when it comes to the rent vs. own debate, there's no one-size-fits-all solution.

Look at what happening in Las Vegas, Austin, and all over Florida, their real estate prices are crashing.