Higher mortgage rates are pushing many homebuyers into the rental market, despite rising rents, transforming the real estate field across the United States.
The U.S. median rental price still lags behind average starter homeownership costs, more so than at the start of 2022.
Despite higher rents, it is now more affordable to rent than to buy a starter home in 38 of the 50 largest U.S. metropolitan areas, according to a July 21 monthly rental report from Realtor.com.
The major tech hubs account for eight of the top 10 metropolitan areas that were more affordable to rent last month.
“With rents and for-sale home prices both hitting record-highs in June, the rising cost of financing a home purchase stands out as the clear driver of rental affordability relative to typical starter homeownership costs,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com….