Renting a three-bedroom property is more affordable than buying a median-priced home in 59 percent of U.S. counties, according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ 2019 Rental Affordability Report.
The report found renting is more affordable than buying a home in the nation’s 18 most populated counties and in 37 of 40 counties with a population of 1 million or more— including Los Angeles County; Cook County (Chicago); Harris County (Houston); Maricopa County (Phoenix); and San Diego County.
“With rental affordability outpacing home affordability in the majority of U.S. housing markets, and home prices rising faster than rental rates, the American dream of owning a home, may be just that — a dream, “ATTOM Director of Content and PR Jennifer von Pohlmann said in a release.
“With home price appreciation increasing annually at an average of 6.7 percent in those counties analyzed for this report and rental rates increasing an average of 3.5 percent, coupled with the fact that home prices are outpacing wages in 80 percent of the counties, renting a home is clearly becoming the more attractive option in this volatile housing market,” von Pohlmann added.
According to the report, other markets with a population of more than 1 million where it is more affordable to rent than to buy a home included counties in Miami; New York City; Seattle; Las Vegas; San Jose, Calif.; San Francisco and Boston.
Among counties with a population of 1 million or more, the report found it is more affordable to buy a home than rent in Wayne County (Detroit); Philadelphia County; and Cuyahoga County (Cleveland).
Across the 755 counties analyzed, renting a three-bedroom property required an average of 38 percent of weekly wages. The least affordable markets for renting were Santa Cruz County, Calif. (81.7 percent of average wages to rent); Honolulu County, Hawaii (74.4 percent); Spotsylvania County, Va. (73.0 percent); Maui County, Hawaii (69.5 percent); San Benito County, Calif. (68.6 percent); Monroe County, Fla. (67.3 percent); Sonoma County (Santa Rosa area), Calif. (66 percent); Marin County (San Francisco area), Calif. (65.6 percent); and Kings County, New York (63.7 percent), the report found.
ATTOM said the most affordable markets for renting were Roane County (Knoxville area), Tenn. (19.7 percent of average wages to rent); Peoria County, Ill. (23.8 percent); McMinn County (Athens), Tenn. (23.8 percent); Green County (Dayton), Ohio (24.2 percent); and Rhea County (Dayton area), Ohio (24.6 percent).