4 ms·

That's a very broad statement. Owning vs renting is dependent entirely on the local market. It hasn't been a good time to own in Detroit for a long time. It has

That's a very broad statement. Owning vs renting is dependent entirely on the local market. It hasn't been a good time to own in Detroit for a long time. It hasn't been a good time to rent in San Francisco in a long time.

hashkb 8y ago
It's a good time to own in SF. Spoken like a true 0.1%er.
- jdmichal 8y ago
  It is a good time to own, assuming you bought like 5 years ago. 2013, average home was around $850k, with monthly PI payments around $3450 (30 years, 20% down, 4.5% rate). [0] Meanwhile, average rent around that time was around $4000 for a two-bedroom. [1] Now, average rent is around $4500 while a house is closer to $1300k or $5270 PI... Certainly does not look like buying now is a good idea at all. Unless you expect rent to break that $5270 mark. But, considering that gap is larger than the one seen in the past five years, with all the craziness that has involved... Seems like a pretty risky bet to me. [0] https://sf.curbed.com/2018/4/5/17201888/san-francisco-median-home-house-price-average-2018 https://sf.curbed.com/2018/4/5/17201888/san-francisco-median... [1] https://www.rentjungle.com/average-rent-in-san-francisco-rent-trends https://www.rentjungle.com/average-rent-in-san-francisco-ren...
  - sjg007 8y ago
    $5270 seems possible. It's 2 techies in a nice two bedroom where a one bedroom is $3-4k. You might get 4 people in there. I've noticed that 1 bedrooms typically price at over half of the equivalent two bedroom rent.
    - jdmichal 8y ago
      But why would you pay $5270 for the priveledge of owning the house, rather than renting it for $4500? Also keeping in mind, that number is only PI (principal + interest). You still have all the nice incidentals of ownership like insurance, property taxes, and maintenance that are included in that $4500 rental.
      - sjg007 8y ago
        Well, you could possibly rent out part of the house. Same as splitting an apartment with a roommate. You would want a situation where your total cost is less than $4500. You have the option of selling later at a higher price (it is a risk though).
wil421 8y ago
The article included a list of cities where it was favorable to rent and a few areas where ownership was favorable including a couple cities.

hashkb 8y ago

It's a good time to own in SF. Spoken like a true 0.1%er.

jdmichal 8y ago
It is a good time to own, assuming you bought like 5 years ago. 2013, average home was around $850k, with monthly PI payments around $3450 (30 years, 20% down, 4.5% rate). [0] Meanwhile, average rent around that time was around $4000 for a two-bedroom. [1] Now, average rent is around $4500 while a house is closer to $1300k or $5270 PI... Certainly does not look like buying now is a good idea at all. Unless you expect rent to break that $5270 mark. But, considering that gap is larger than the one seen in the past five years, with all the craziness that has involved... Seems like a pretty risky bet to me. [0] https://sf.curbed.com/2018/4/5/17201888/san-francisco-median-home-house-price-average-2018 https://sf.curbed.com/2018/4/5/17201888/san-francisco-median... [1] https://www.rentjungle.com/average-rent-in-san-francisco-rent-trends https://www.rentjungle.com/average-rent-in-san-francisco-ren...
- sjg007 8y ago
  $5270 seems possible. It's 2 techies in a nice two bedroom where a one bedroom is $3-4k. You might get 4 people in there. I've noticed that 1 bedrooms typically price at over half of the equivalent two bedroom rent.
  - jdmichal 8y ago
    But why would you pay $5270 for the priveledge of owning the house, rather than renting it for $4500? Also keeping in mind, that number is only PI (principal + interest). You still have all the nice incidentals of ownership like insurance, property taxes, and maintenance that are included in that $4500 rental.
    - sjg007 8y ago
      Well, you could possibly rent out part of the house. Same as splitting an apartment with a roommate. You would want a situation where your total cost is less than $4500. You have the option of selling later at a higher price (it is a risk though).

wil421 8y ago

The article included a list of cities where it was favorable to rent and a few areas where ownership was favorable including a couple cities.