Study shows homeownership still more affordable than renting in most parts of the U.S.

Rising home prices and the issues that causes for housing affordability have attracted plenty of headlines over the past year. But homeownership is still more affordable than renting in most markets, according to the latest study by ATTOM Data Solutions.

The study found that owning a media-priced, three-bedroom home is more affordable than renting an equivalent property in 58% of the 1,154 U.S. counties tracked.

ATTOM’s researchers analyzed fair market rent data estimates for 2022, wage data, and public record sales deed data for single-family home sales in the counties tracked.

Home prices have increased by more than 10% in most of the country over the past year as high demand and low housing inventories have moved prices higher. On the other hand, average wages have increased about 8% in comparison. Interest rates have hovered around 3%, which have helped with homeownership affordability, researchers note.

“Home prices are rising faster than both rents and wages, while wages rise faster than rents,” said Todd Teta, chief product officer with ATTOM. “And the housing market boom of the past decade keeps pushing home values to new records. Yet homeownership still remains the more affordable option for average workers in a majority of the country because it still takes up a smaller portion of their pay. The trend is slowly shifting toward renters, which could be a major force in easing price increases in 2022. Prices can only go up by so much more before renting becomes financially easier. For now, though, rising wages and interest rates around 3 percent are enough to offset recent price run-ups and keep ownership on the plus side of the affordability ledger compared to renting.”

Owning a home tends to be the most affordable in less-populated counties. Some of the areas with populations of less than 500,000 where owning particularly outpaces renting are Lake County (Gary), Ind.; Seminole County, Fla. (outside Orlando); Knox County (Knoxville), Tenn.; East Baton Rouge Parish (Baton Rouge), La.; and Jefferson Parish, La. (outside New Orleans), the report shows.

Meanwhile, the most affordable counties for owning a home with a population of at least 1 million are in Wayne County (Detroit), Mich.; Allegheny County (Pittsburgh), Pa.; Cuyahoga County, Ohio; Philadelphia County, Pa.; and Harris County (Houston), Texas.