The Growing Cost of Buying a Home

A new monthly report finds that it is becoming increasingly more affordable to rent than buy in the U.S. The cost of buying a home surpassed the cost of renting by 10 percent in July.

Only 41 percent of median income families can afford to buy a median list-priced home in their county, and the median monthly cost of buying a home was $1,647 in July, whereas the median rental cost was $1,267, according to Realtor.com's report. The study also evaluated the share of income necessary to buy a home versus income needed to rent a home, finding that Northern California and New York are home to three of the top 20 counties with the greatest annual growth in the rent-versus-buy gap apiece.

As home prices rise across the U.S., choosing to rent has become increasingly popular. The monthly costs of buying a home have risen by 14 percent over the past year. This is more than three times the 4 percent increase in monthly rental costs. Additionally, the number of places where it is cheaper to buy has significantly declined in the past year.

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