Home Ownership is becoming less expensive than renting in some a growing number of cities

The Wall Street Journal
Stronger lure for prospective home buyers
With the monthly cost of owning a home more affordable now than at any point in the past 15
years, homeownership is becoming less expensive than renting in a growing number of cities.
Making sense of the story
 The Wall Street Journal’s third-quarter survey of housing-market conditions in 28 of the
nation’s largest metropolitan areas found that home values declined in all but five
markets compared with the second quarter, according to data from Zillow Inc.
 Meanwhile, rent levels have risen briskly across the country and mortgage rates,
hovering around 4 percent, are the lowest in six decades.
 As a result, monthly mortgage payments on the median priced home – including taxes
and insurance – are lower than the average rent levels in 12 metro areas, according to
data compiled by Marcus & Millichap.
 Homeownership also is looking more affordable because after several years of declines,
apartment rents will rise approximately 4 percent this year, and rents are poised to pick
up even more momentum across the country next year, according to Marcus & Millichap.
 Affordability could continue to improve as prices slide even lower in coming months.
Price declines are likely because the share of “distressed” sales, including bank-owned
foreclosures, tend to rise in the winter, when traditional sales activity cools