Breakeven Horizon Shortens Nationally, But Still Lengthening in Most Major Metros
It takes 4.9 years of renting in San Jose before buying a home there is a better prospect – but not because rents in San Jose are affordable: The median rent is $3,600 a month, among the highest in the country. It’s just that the median home value is even less affordable: $992,144.
National Apartment Market Outlook: Bearish for Now, Bullish for Later
A recent surge in apartment construction could mean opportunities for renters to save some money over the next few years as more supply continues to come online and landlords compete to fill vacant units – especially at the higher end of the market. But looking farther out, that dynamic could reverse as a handful of demographic and economic trends take hold.
Rising Rents Mean Larger Homeless Population
It’s well documented that there’s a connection between escalating rents and growing numbers of people experiencing homelessness. With this new research, we quantify that effect in 25 major metro areas. We found that in four metros currently experiencing a crisis in homelessness — Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C., and Seattle – the relationship between rising rents and increased homelessness is particularly strong.
For Many Low-Income Renters, Even Low-End Apartments Aren’t Affordable
In the 25 largest metro areas in the country, people with low incomes pay far more than 30 percent for rent. Even markets that were not historically out of reach now take a large chunk of low-income renters’ dollars. In Houston, the median low-income earner spends 65.1 percent of her income on the median bottom-tier rent. In Tampa, it’s 59.1 percent. In Philadelphia, 57.3 percent.
A Turning Tide? U.S. Homeownership Rate Climbs in Q2 as Rental Vacancies Mount
After a decade in which essentially all household formation was among renters, the most recent homeownership data provides a faint signal that the market may be turning. Between Q2 2016 and Q2 2017, the number of owner households increased 1.7 percent while the number of renter households fell by 1.6 percent.
How to Save on Rent: Don’t Move
Landlords typically raise rents at a slower rate for renewing tenants, so people are bound to save some money by sticking around -- but who knew it would be enough to pay for another couple months of rent?
Return on Rent: In Most Major Markets, Most Homes Can Be Rented Out for A Profit
Mom-and-pop real estate investors looking to buy a home and rent it out for a profit essentially can’t go wrong purchasing a large majority of homes in most major markets nationwide – except for a handful of metros largely clustered along the West Coast and Northeast.
One-in-Five Renters Casts a Shadow on the For-Sale Housing Market
For-sale inventory is exceptionally tight and competition among buyers is high: In 2016, the typical home buyer made offers on at least two-to-three homes before closing. At the same time, almost one-in-five renters that moved into a rental unit seriously considered buying at the time, but didn’t – perhaps because of those same buying hurdles.
Where Renting Pays: Places Where Owning Takes a While to Pencil Out
It takes more than two years before buying the typical U.S. home makes more financial sense than renting it -- but that time frame varies by market. In San Jose, you'd have to spend 5.1 years in a house for buying to make more sense than renting.
Zillow’s Breakeven Horizon: The Financial Answer to ‘Rent or Buy’?
Here's a tool for helping weigh the financial side of an exciting and personal question.
