Owning A Home More Affordable Than Renting In Nearly Two Thirds Of U.S. Housing Markets

(CBS DETROIT) - ATTOM Data Solutions, curator of the nation's premier property database, today released its 2021 Rental Affordability Report, which shows that owning a median-priced three-bedroom home is more affordable than renting a three-bedroom property in 572, or 63 percent of the 915 U.S. counties analyzed for the report.

Average fair-market rents are rising faster than average wages in 176 of the 915 counties analyzed in the report (19 percent), including Harris County (Houston), TX; Tarrant County (Fort Worth), TX; Fresno County, CA; Pinellas County (Tampa), FL and Macomb County, MI (outside Detroit).

That has happened even though median home prices have increased more than average rents over the past year in 83 percent of those counties and have risen more than wages in almost two-thirds of the nation.

The analysis incorporated recently released fair market rent data for 2021 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics along with public record sales deed data from ATTOM in 915 U.S. counties with sufficient home sales data (see full methodology below).

Home ownership is more affordable in almost two-thirds of the country following a year when the impact of declining interest rates helped counteract home prices that rose faster than rents and wages. Trends favoring home ownership show up most in suburban and rural areas with the most affordable home values, while renting remains more affordable in the biggest cities.

"Home-prices are rising faster than rents and wages in a majority of the country. Yet, home ownership is still more affordable, as amazingly low mortgage rates that dropped below 3 percent are helping to keep the cost of rising home prices in check," said Todd Teta chief product officer with ATTOM Data Solutions. "It's startling to see that kind of trend. But it shows how both the cost of renting has been relatively high compared to the cost of ownership and how declining interest rates are having a notable impact on the housing market and home ownership. The coming year is totally uncertain, amid so many questions connected to the Coronavirus pandemic and the broader economy. But right now, owning a home still appears to be a financially-sound choice for those who can afford it."

SOURCE ATTOM Data Solutions