How Much Space Could the Average Rent Cover if It Were a Mortgage Payment?

Not only are rents hovering near record highs in a number of costly housing markets, but with interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages at 20-year highs, both renters and buyers are feeling the sting of inflated monthly payments. A recent study by online real estate marketplace Point2 looked at housing costs in the 100 largest U.S. cities to determine how much space the local average rent could afford if it were a mortgage payment.

In 63 of those metros, the average rent would support the mortgage on a home of less than 1,000 square feet, and in markets such as Fremont, Calif., the amount of residential square footage affordable for renters is even smaller. There, the average rent of $2,758 would buy just 506 square feet of space, according to The New York Times.

In New York, the average rent of $4,454 buys just 728 square feet. Drilling down into the boroughs, in Manhattan you’d get just 473 square feet, and in Brooklyn a few more, 504 square feet.

So where would you get the most space if you spent your rent money on a mortgage? The answer is Detroit, where the median rent of $1,215 could buy an expansive 2,421 square feet.

Read more