Breakeven Horizons, the time it takes for the accumulating costs of renting a unit to exceed the costs of having purchased the residence from the get go, remain very low in many markets across the country. These short horizons are driven by strong expected home value appreciation, as measured by our Zillow Home Value Index Forecast.  In addition, persistently low mortgage rates leave mortgages as a comparative bargain at a time when rents are at historically unaffordable levels.

This holds true in many college towns across the U.S. The table below ranks U.S. cities by the number of enrolled college students, both undergraduate and graduate students, relative to the total population. Unlike home values, rent did not reset in the housing crash. Instead, they continued on upwards. In many areas, paying rent on a house during one’s college years could end up being more expensive than purchasing the same house outright, even when considering closing costs, property taxes, maintenance and renovations expenses, homeowners insurance and the opportunity cost of using savings as a down payment instead of putting it towards the stock market.