Now more than ever, residents of large American cities face a conundrum when deciding whether to rent or buy. Renting is increasingly popular in major markets as housing prices in these desirable areas keep creeping up. Now, Zillow has announced a tool to help people determine how long they would have to own a home in their market for it to be more financially viable than renting.
The online real estate giant has unveiled its “breakeven horizon” feature that shows at what point owning makes more financial sense than renting. Zillow calculates the average up-front costs of owning a home, like a down payment, mortgage, fees and insurance premiums and determines how long one would have to stay in a home to recoup those costs.
Nationwide, it would take two years and one month before it would make sense for someone paying the national median rent to buy a house at the national median value, according to Zillow.
In more expensive cities, the “breakeven horizon” is much longer, as it would take longer to recoup the higher home costs when compared to renting in those markets. Miami’s breakeven horizon is two years and seven months, five months longer than the national average.
That’s the 13th longest breakeven horizon in the country, Zillow reports. Miami could have a shorter time before owning makes more sense than renting, but it’s low annual home value appreciation hampers homeowners. The Magic City has an expected home appreciation of .52 percent, the lowest of any market Zillow surveyed.
| City | Median Breakeven Horizon (yrs) | Annual change in Breakeven Horizon | Expected home value appreciation | Zillow home value index | Zillow rent index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta | 1.7 | 0.38 | 3.28 | $175,800 | $1,254 |
| Boston | 2.7 | -0.02 | 3.14 | $419,900 | $2,351 |
| Chicago | 2.2 | 0.22 | 2.44 | $208,400 | $1,618 |
| Houston | 2.4 | 0.97 | 1.54 | $174,500 | $1,544 |
| Miami | 2.7 | 0.26 | 0.52 | $249,700 | $1,849 |
| National Average | 2.1 | 0.41 | 2.89 | $196,500 | $1,408 |