Housing Costs to Rise in 2019 for Owners, Renters

The cost of owning a home is rising faster than the cost to rent in Houston, and the gap will continue to widen over time, according to the latest annual multifamily outlook by Freddie Mac.

Rising home prices and interest rates will lift the average mortgage payment 10 percent in 2019, while multifamily rents will grow 4 percent in that time, the report predicts. In Houston, the cost of homeownership has increased 17.4 percent since 2015, while the cost to rent grew 13 percent. As such, while renting may be more affordable than owning for many, the average cost to rent is growing faster than the historical average, The Houston Chronicle reports.

“Even though home price growth is forecast to moderate in 2019 — increasing 4.3 percent compared with 5.1 percent in 2018 — positive appreciation and higher mortgage rates will continue to drive up the cost of ownership,” the report says.

Among 20 metro areas tracked, Las Vegas experienced the biggest increase, with rents rising 6.7 percent in November compared with November 2017, according to CoreLogic’s Single-Family Rent Index. Rents were up 6.1 percent in Phoenix and gained 5.3 percent in Orlando during the period. Seattle was the only city that experienced a decline in rents, with prices falling 0.7 percent year-over year in November.

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