To Buy or Rent in Summer 2018

Home value appreciation is at an all-time high in more than half of the nation's major metros, but in some markets, renting offers a greater financial advantage.

Even though buying a home was still a better investment as of July 2018, the benefit of buying over renting dropped to a six-year low, as rent price growth is being outpaced by the current rate of inflation remaining stagnant, and in some metros seeing annual declines, Trulia reports. Trulia senior economist Cheryl Young writes that this summer is a game-changer, as it is the first time that renting is more financially beneficial than buying in San Jose, Calif. and San Francisco. Home values grew 29.0 and 14.2 percent, respectively, in these two cities, while rents were flat in San Jose and down three percent in San Francisco.

For the first time in the past five years, when evaluating the economics of renting versus buying, renting has come out best in two West Coast metros: San Jose, Calif. and San Francisco—places where home values have soared and surpassed the $1 million mark, while rents have flattened or sunk. And, in a few other markets, including Honolulu and Seattle, the savings from buying have melted away, leaving buying with only a slim advantage.

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