Rent or Own
It's officially cheaper to own a home than rent an apartment
We know rents are high, but now we know for sure that they're higher than paying a mortgage. Like, a lot higher.
Zillow's newest affordability report reveals that rents hit their least affordable point in the second quarter of 2015, when U.S. renters were shelling out 30.2 percent of their monthly income for that temporary roof over their heads. Fifteen years ago, it was only around 24.4 percent.
In contrast, mortgages are costing homebuyers only 15.1 percent of their monthly income. Before the housing bubble burst in the late 2000s, buyers could expect to budget about 21 percent for their mortgage.
In high-demand cities such as Los Angeles, San Jose, Miami and San Francisco, the rents are predictably nuts: up to 40 percent of monthly income. With Texas having some of the healthiest housing markets in the country, it sure seems like an excellent time to live in the Lone Star State.
