With mortgage rates at or nearing record lows, owning a house is becoming more and more in reach to renters.
GoBankingRates.com analyzed median rent prices and median home prices for single-family homes in all 50 states to determine the best places to own rather than rent, and vice versa.
For instance, it’s almost $150 cheaper to rent a place in Washington D.C. each month than it is to own a place. On the flip side of that, however, is the investment of owning a home.
Median monthly rent in D.C. is $2,575, while the median monthly mortgage (GoBankingRates.com used a metric with a 20-percent down payment and 30-year fixed mortgage rate) will run about $2,719.
It might make sense to get a comfy nest egg over in Maryland, where a mortgage will run right around $1,446. Essentially, you could maintain two properties in Maryland for about the cost of owning one in the District.
Head up north just a bit to New York, and you’ll be paying nearly double for rent on what could be a mortgage payment. Median rent in New York is $3,295, but mortgage payments are speculated to be right around $1,660.
Illinois, similar to New York, has some high rent prices. With a median mortgage of $1,078, the cost for renting seems implausible; $1,600 is the median monthly rent payment for single-family homes in Illinois.
California, although pricey in major markets like San Francisco and Los Angeles, is pretty close when comparing rent and mortgage statewide. Median rent in California is $2,400, while a median mortgage runs the homeowner somewhere in the vicinity of $2,221.
Back in 2014, Texas was seeing growth thanks to booming oil prices, but those dipped about 70 percent at the beginning of 2015 and have not stabilized, thus thwarting major growth and development in the real estate market. However, renting is still more expensive despite tempered employment opportunities. It’s about $1,425 to rent in Texas each month, but a mortgage is $1,271.
In Florida, where new high-rise condos appear like 5 o’clock shadow in Miami, renting costs residents $1,695. If you happen to own a home in Florida, though, the mortgage payments are an average $1,297.
