It's 60% cheaper to rent a home than buy across top 50 US metros — here are the worst cities for homebuyers

Published

2 years ago

April 1, 2024

admin

As of February, it’s cheaper to rent a home than buy one in all of the US’s top 50 metros — and by a staggeringly wide margin, according to a recent study.

For a so-called “starter home” in any of these sought-after cities — which some have argued no longer exist thanks to sky-high borrowing rates and inflationary housing prices — it costs 60.1% less to lease the property than own it on a monthly basis, per Realtor.com’s February 2024 Rental Report.

On average, the stiff premium for homeownership amounts to roughly $1,027 in monthly costs — though in the most sought-after cities, that figure more than doubles.

In Austin, Texas, for example, the gap between renting and buying was the largest, according to Realtor.com’s report that was earlier reported on by the Daily Mail.

The monthly cost of buying a starter home — a zero-to-two-bedroom home, per Realtor.com — in the Austin area was $3,695 in February. The sum marked a staggering 141.5%– or $2,165 — more than the typical monthly rent of $1,530 in the Texan capitol.

Seattle’s housing market also boasted a large disparity between buying and renting: The monthly cost of buying a starter home was $4,422 in February, while the median rent was $2,000 — a 121.1% difference, per Realtor.com.

Subscribe to our daily Business Report newsletter!

Please provide a valid email address.

By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Never miss a story.

And in Phoenix, Ariz., the cost of renting monthly, an average of $1,543, was nearly half the $3,071 per month it would require to buy.

Though it’s more expensive to buy a home in all of the 50 major metros in the US, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose and Sacramento in California, as well as Nashville, Portland and Houston rounded out the top 10 cities with the biggest difference between buying and renting.

For reference, in Realtor.com’s February 2023 Rental Report, it found that renting a starter home was more affordable than buying in 45 of the largest US cities.

In the 12 months since, Memphis, Tenn.; Birmingham, Ala.; Pittsburgh, Pen.;, St. Louis, Mo.; and Baltimore, Md., have flipped from favoring homeowners to favoring renters, according to the Daily Mail.

Realtor.com — which assumed an 8% downpayment, a mortgage rate of 6.78% and included the cost of taxes, insurance and fees in its calculations — noted that buying a starter home is becoming increasingly more expensive as the price of monthly rents have dropped at a faster rate than buying costs.

In February, buying costs dropped 1.6% in the previous 12 months, while rent costs dropped 4.44%.

The key driver of this was elevated mortgage rates, Realtor.com said.

In February, the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.78%, according to the real-estate listings website — up from 6.26% 12 months prior.

Surging rates have made it so unaffordable to take on a mortgage that there’s a growing number of buyers these days that Redfin calls “nepo” buyers — a reference to the nepo baby phenomenon where children of celebrities ride their coattails to gain a foothold on a career.

According to a recent survey from Redfin, 36% of Gen Zers, whose ages range between 12 and 27, and millennials, 28 to 43, are expecting a cash gift from family members in order to fund their downpayment twice as many as there were just five years ago.

Another 16% are anticipating to use an inheritance to help fund their downpayment, and 13% plan to live with their parents or other family members.

Sports

Foligno takes puck off hand, will miss 4 weeks

Published

2 hours ago

November 16, 2025

admin

Foligno takes puck off hand, will miss 4 weeks

Ryan S. ClarkNov 16, 2025, 12:28 AM ET
Close

Chicago Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno will miss four weeks after injuring his hand Saturday in his team’s 3-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs, coach Jeff Blashill said.

Foligno, 38, suffered the injury with 90 seconds left in the second period when he was skating near the top of the Blackhawks’ defensive zone and Jake McCabe‘s shot on net deflected off Foligno’s hand.

Foligno immediately hunched over and favored his hand while skating back to the Blackhawks’ bench. Foligno, who did not return for the third period, finished with three shots on goal and logged 10:41 in ice time.

The absence of Foligno, who has six points in 15 games, means the Blackhawks will be without their fourth-line center who was anchoring a combination featuring Sam Lafferty and Landon Slaggert. His injury is also the second to impact the Blackhawks’ forward group with winger Jason Dickinson currently on injured reserve.

After finishing last season with the second-fewest points in the NHL, the Blackhawks (9-5-4) have emerged into one of the biggest surprises through the first quarter of the regular season. With their win against the Maple Leafs, they enter Sunday third in the Central Division and a point ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken in the Western Conference wild-card race.

Sports

Devils’ Hughes out 8 weeks after finger surgery

Published

2 hours ago

November 16, 2025

admin

Devils' Hughes out 8 weeks after finger surgery

New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes had successful surgery on his finger Saturday, the team announced. The expected recovery time is eight weeks, though he will be reevaluated in six weeks.

According to sources, Hughes injured his hand in a “freak accident” that involved getting cut by glass at a team dinner Thursday.

Hughes’ procedure was performed by Dr. Robert Hotchkiss at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.

The 24-year-old was off to a terrific start for New Jersey, which is 12-4-1 and atop the Metropolitan Division entering Friday. The American-born star has 10 goals and 20 points in his first 17 games.

The injury will create an interesting predicament for Team USA ahead of the 2026 Olympics in Milan. Hughes’ brother, Quinn, has already been named to the team while the Devils star was expected to be a front-runner for the roster. Federations must submit rosters by Dec. 31. The Devils’ projected return-to-play timeline is around the second week of January. The Olympic men’s hockey tournament begins Feb. 11.

Olympic rosters feature 25 players, which is two more spots than teams had at Four Nations.

Sports

Canucks sign ex-Leaf Kampf to one-year deal

Published

2 hours ago

November 16, 2025

admin

Canucks sign ex-Leaf Kampf to one-year deal

Ryan S. ClarkNov 15, 2025, 06:36 PM ET
Close

Center David Kampf signed a one-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, just a day after the Toronto Maple Leafs terminated his previous deal.

Kampf, whose deal with the Canucks will carry a $1.1 million cap hit, was entering the third year of his four-year contract with the Maple Leafs that was worth $2.4 million annually.

The Leafs waived Kampf before the season, and he began the year with their AHL affiliate. Kampf played four games in the AHL before taking a voluntary leave of absence, which wasn’t sanctioned by the Leafs, to evaluate his options.

Kampf, who scored 5 goals and 13 points in 59 games last season, gives the Canucks a two-way center who has logged more than 110 short-handed minutes in seven straight seasons.

The Canucks have faced defensive challenges under first-year coach Adam Foote, who already has had to navigate injuries to Filip Chytil, Thatcher Demko, Derek Forbort, Filip Hronek and Quinn Hughes, among others.

Entering Saturday, the Canucks were allowing 3.53 goals per game, which is the fifth most in the NHL, while their penalty kill is the worst in the league at 66.1%. The Los Angeles Kings set the NHL record for the worst penalty kill in league history with a 68.2% success rate in the 1979-80 campaign.

Kampf also provides a veteran presence at center for the Canucks, who entered the season with questions at the position. Those concerns have intensified with Teddy Blueger and Chytil on injured reserve.

Entering Saturday, the Canucks (8-9-2) had the second-fewest points in the Pacific Division but were two points behind the Chicago Blackhawks and Winnipeg Jets for Western Conference wild-card spots.