The answer to this question is not as simple as looking at the monthly rents and comparing them to mortgage payments.
According to Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries, other than looking at the monthly rents and mortgage payments, the following factors have to be considered before deciding whether to buy or to rent: time horizon (How long do you plan to stay in the home?), future prices and rents, tax deductibility, maintenance costs, and transactions costs (down payment, closing costs, loan setup fees, the escrow or title company’s fees, property inspections, mortgage insurance, homeowner’s insurance and more).
“With all of that said, ‘rent or buy?’ may be a simple question, but it doesn’t have a simple answer. A wide range of factors have to be considered before making a decision between the two,” Humphries said.
Taking into consideration the above-mentioned factors, Zillow says it analyzed the “breakeven horizon” or the number of years it would take before owning a home becomes more financially advantageous than renting the same home in over 200 metros and 7,500 cities in the U.S.
According to Zillow’s “breakeven horizon,” a homeowner only needs to stay 2.8 years in Baltimore-Towson, Maryland to make home ownership the preferred option.
Whether you are a first-time home buyer, first-time home seller, empty nester, thinking about selling a home or buying a home, do contact the Guldi Real Estate Group. In Southern Maryland, the Guldi Group is the number one real estate team.