Top 10 Cities to Buy vs Rent / Rent vs Buy

Today Trulia announced America’s Top 10 Cities to Buy vs. Rent and the Top 10 Cities to Rent vs Buy. Trulia calculated the price-to-rent ratio using the average list price compared with average rent on 2 bedroom apartments, condos and townhomes listed on Trulia.com. To create the list, Trulia analyzed the largest 50 cities in America, by population.

Top 10 Cities to Buy vs. Rent

1. Minneapolis, Minnesota 8
2. Arlington, Texas 8
3. Miami, Florida 8
4. Fresno, California 8
5. San Antonio, Texas 8
6. Mesa, Arizona 9
7. Jacksonville, Florida 9
8. Phoenix, Arizona 10
9. El Paso, Texas 10
10. Las Vegas, Nevada 11

“At the peak of the real estate bubble, cities like Miami, Phoenix and Las Vegas were not affordable for many. Now the opposite is true,” said Pete Flint, co-founder and CEO of Trulia. “Home sellers in these hard hit areas are forced to lower their prices to compete with all the foreclosures on the market. As a result , these unattainable markets are so affordable it makes better financial sense to buy than rent.”

Top 10 Cities to Rent vs. Buy

1. New York, New York 33
2. Omaha, Nebraska 26
3. Seattle, Washington 25
4. Portland, Oregon 22
5. San Francisco, California 22
6. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 21
7. Kansas City, Missouri 20
8. San Diego, California 20
9. Cleveland, Ohio 20
10. Dallas, Texas 19

“It is not a surprise to see cities like New York and San Francisco on the ‘Rent’ cities but I was surprised to see areas like Omaha, Oklahoma City and Kansas City on our rental list, “said Flint “We’re not suggesting that it’s unwise to buy in these areas, though - just that it’s significantly more expensive than renting. In many of these cities, even though home buying is much more costly than renting, prices are still much lower than they have been in a long, long time.”

Top 50 City Rent v Buy Index
Comparing 2 bedroom Apts/Condos/Townhouses

City State Average   Listing Price/Rent/Price-to-Rent Ratio
Minneapolis MN         $ 153,844    $ 1,700       8
Arlington TX               $ 72,422      $ 789          8
Miami FL                    $ 189,566    $ 2,019       8
Fresno, CA                 $ 90,446      $ 936          8
San Antonio TX          $ 89,068      $ 884          8
Mesa AZ                    $ 71,317      $ 697          9
Jacksonville FL           $ 92,488      $ 870          9
Phoenix AZ                $ 100,535     $ 883          9
El Paso TX                 $ 95,388       $ 770        10
Las Vegas NV           $ 128,815     $ 983         11
Detroit MI                  $ 151,726     $ 1,128     11
Houston TX               $ 164,487     $ 1,163      12
Baltimore MD            $ 187,998     $ 1,300      12
Tucson AZ                 $ 129,800     $ 879         12
Long Beach CA         $ 260,449     $ 1,746      12
Austin TX                  $ 165,326     $ 1,101      13
Virginia Beach VA     $ 178,522     $ 1,093      14
Sacramento CA         $ 152,696     $ 934         14
Washington DC         $ 469,150     $ 2,773      14
Oakland CA              $ 278,245     $ 1,625      14
Albuquerque NM      $ 137,110     $ 792         14
Raleigh NC               $ 146,010     $ 840         14
San Jose CA             $ 298,621     $ 1,691     15
Chicago IL                $ 303,085     $ 1,697     15
Charlotte NC            $ 168,620     $ 929        15
Colorado Springs CO $ 144,074   $ 773        16
Indianapolis IN          $ 141,486    $ 752        16
Honolulu HI               $ 583,858    $ 3,080     16
Columbus OH           $ 143,267    $ 739        16
Los Angeles CA        $ 491,055    $ 2,460     17
Boston MA               $ 536,956    $ 2,623     17
Milwaukee WI          $ 271,040    $ 1,322     17
Atlanta GA                $ 244,610    $ 1,193    17
Nashville TN             $ 221,377    $ 1,078    17
Tulsa OK                  $ 144,454    $ 700       17
Philadelphia PA         $ 323,912    $ 1,523    18
Denver CO               $ 283,432    $ 1,315    18
Louisville KY            $ 157,667    $ 720       18
Memphis TN            $ 164,226    $ 747       18
Dallas TX                 $ 293,767    $ 1,324    18
Cleveland OH          $ 246,895    $ 1,046     20
San Diego CA          $ 396,409    $ 1,670    20
Kansas City MO      $ 240,076    $ 992       20
Oklahoma City OK  $ 195,663    $ 763       21
San Francisco CA    $ 774,728    $ 2,996    22
Portland OR             $ 307,858    $ 1,145    22
Seattle WA              $ 461,330    $ 1,546    25
Omaha NE              $ 275,844    $ 870       26
Fort Worth* TX      $ 328,076    $ 907       30
New York NY        $ 1,383,612 $ 3,538    33

Trulia.com’s Rent vs. Buy Index - Interpretation Key

Price-to-Rent Ratio of 1-15: It is much less expensive to own than to rent a home in this city Price-to-Rent Ratio of 16-20: It is more expensive to own a home in this city are The total costs of ownership of a home in this city are greater than the costs of renting, but it might still make financial sense depending on the situation. Price-to-Rent Ratio of 21+: The total costs of owning a home in this city are much greater than the costs of renting.

Definitions: Total costs of home ownership include mortgage principal and interest, property taxes, hazard insurance, closing costs at time of purchase and ongoing HOA dues and private mortgage insurance, where applicable. Total costs of homeownership include an offset for the tax advantages of homeownership, including mortgage interest, property tax and closing cost deductions.

Total costs of renting include rent and renter’s insurance.

(Information source: Trulia.com)

After Hour Event Thursday June 10th 5-7pm

Location: Dalby Road in Union
Date: June 10, 2010
Time: 5 to 7pm

Union Square businesses including PING Real Estate and Hood Canal Communications will host the Chamber's June After Hours on Thursday, June 10 from 5 to 7pm. Everyone is invited! The Union Square is located on Dalby Road in Union. Travel down State Route 106 and take the first left just past Alderbrook Resort (at Cameo Boutique).

PING Real Estate will be serving hotdogs. KMAS Radio will be playing "Oldies" music. Come to enjoy wine, appetizers, and desserts while meeting us business owners in Union Square, and entering in raffles for prizes such as Seahawks tickets, personal training and gift baskets!

Businesses:
Union Square Deli
Dogwood Construction
Falcon Financial
The Salon at Union Square
Union Visitor Information Center
PING Real Estate
Union Square Fitness
Our Community Credit Union

May 2010 Mason County Residential Sales Statistics

What's happening:

According to the News Release by Northwest Multiple Services on June 4, home sales during May tapered off around Washington state following a surge of activity in April as buyers hustled to meet deadlines for tax credits. Leading up to its expiration, the tax credit caused a surge of home sales, but a surge can only be sustained for so long. Listing activity also sagged during May after strong upticks in March and April during the buildup before the incentives lapsed. The slowdown during May was due in part to the end of the incentive program, but overall activity so far this year is stronger than a year ago.

What's predicted:

The extremely low interest rate is expected to last through the summer and into fall, which will help give a nudge to buyers that no longer can look to the tax credit for incentive. As the market returns to normal, home values may continue to decline in some parts of Washington state and within some price ranges. The tax credit pulled sales into April at the expense of the remainder of the spring buying season. Quoting the remarks of one real estate company CEO: "What we’re seeing now is a natural adjustment. As consumer confidence continues to improve in the coming months, we expect to see the buyer pool replenish itself which should be followed by an increase in home sales.”

Below is the residential sales statistics at our Mason County local level for the month of May, 2010.

New Listings:
- Listing Inventory: Total 155. ↓20% comparing to last month, ↓14% comparing to the same month last year.
- Average Days on the Market: 142 days.
- Median Listing Price: $229,000. ↓1% comparing to last month, ↓9% comparing to the same month last year.

Pending Sale Listings:
- Total 55 pending listings. ↓32% comparing to last month, ↓24% comparing to the same month last year.
- Average Days on the Market: 124 days.

- Median Pending Sale Price: $149,900. ↓18% comparing to last month, ↓11% comparing to the same month last year.

Sold Listings:
- Total 60 Sold Listings: ↑22% comparing to last month, ↑7% comparing to the same month last year.
- Average Days on the Market: 157 days.
- Median Sold Price: $160,400. ↓15% comparing to last month, ↓1% comparing to the same month last year.

(Above report compiled by PING Real Estate. Data source: NWMLS published data June 5, 2010).

Below is the statistical summary by the counties statewide for May, 2010: