Rent a House v. Owning Your Home

One of the many benefits to home ownership is being able to protect yourself from rising rents and locking in your housing costs for the life of your mortgage.

The Rent Trap

Jonathan Smoke, Chief Economist at realtor.com recently discussed the “Rental Affordability Crisis”. He warns;

“Low rental vacancies and a lack of new rental construction are pushing up rents, and we expect that they’ll outpace home price appreciation in the year ahead.”

The 2015 Report on Rental Housing by The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University reported that 49% of rental households are cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing. This can make it hard to save and pay other necessary bills such as food costs and healthcare.

It’s Cheaper to Buy Than Rent

Smoke went on to say:

“Housing is central to the health and well-being of our country and our local communities. In addition, this (rental affordability) crisis threatens the future value of owned housing, as the burdensome level of rents will trap more aspiring owners into a vicious financial cycle in which they cannot save and build a solid credit record to eventually buy a home.”

“While more than 85% of markets have burdensome rents today, it’s perplexing that in more than 75% of the counties across the country, it is actually cheaper to buy than rent a home. So why aren’t those unhappy renters choosing to buy?”

Know Your Buying Options

Perhaps, you have already saved enough to buy your first home. Or perhaps you could qualify for down payment assistance.  Maybe you could qualify to purchase a home and don’t even know it. Don’t lose out on the opportunity to own a home

Real Estate Bottom Line

Don’t get caught in the trap so many renters are currently in. If you are ready and willing to buy a home, find out if you are able. Talk to a mortgage professional to see if you are eligible to get a mortgage.