AD Mortgage Study Asks: Is It Better to Rent or Buy?

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AD Mortgage, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., released a new nationwide study comparing the 10-year financial path for renting versus buying.

For example, does it make more sense for someone to buy or to stay renting and invest their down payment? AD Mortgage found that over a 10-year period, buyers ended with more wealth than the renters gain through the stock market across every market studied. The top five cities where buying delivers the largest advantage are Bellevue, Wash., San Jose, Calif., San Francisco, Seattle and Kailua, Hawaii.

The next scenario: A buyer buys and a renter invests both the down payment and their monthly savings from renting. Buying still comes out ahead in 199 of the 250 markets analyzed. The cities where renting plus investing won tend to be some of the nation’s most expensive housing markets, such as Kailua, Hawaii, San Jose, Calif., Pearl City, Hawaii, Arlington, Va., and San Francisco.

Florida and Idaho top the list of markets where cities where homeownership outperforms renting plus investing, led by Miami, St. Petersburg, Fla., Meridian, Idaho, Tampa, Fla., and Orlando, Fla.

There are 26 markets where buying would win under any circumstances, led by Birmingham, Ala., Montgomery, Ala., Hartford, Conn., Richmond County, Ga., Columbus, Ga., Macon-Bibb County, Ga., Chicago, Aurora, Ill., South Bend, Ind., and Covington, Ky.