Trulia just published a report citing that buying a home is cheaper than renting in the DC real estate market. The average monthly cost of rent is $2,098. The average monthly cost of home ownership is $1,205, or a difference of $893 (-43%). These figures are based on average prices during the summer of 2012.
Now, there are a few caveats to consider. First off, these figures are based on owning the home for more than 7 years. It assumes that you qualify for a low mortgage interest rate, and it also assumes that you itemize your taxes. Under this scenario, home ownership is cheaper than renting. Interestingly, it turns out that buying a house is cheaper than renting in all of the one-hundred largest metropolitan areas in the United States. Seems to me that some DC types have already figured this out, given the very low inventory of homes for sale in the area.
All said, this isn’t a slam dunk. Borrowers need to have 20% down payment to qualify for these loans. That can take years. Furthermore, a lot of people have suffered from job losses, or home losses. Repairing credit, or just catching up on savings doesn’t happen overnight. There is still a huge swath of people who can’t qualify for a mortgage and will find home ownership out of reach for many more years.
If you’re thinking that it might be time to take that leap, please fill out the form below. We also take phone calls! Marcie 301-758-4894 or Cati 202-487-7177. We look forward to hearing from you.