The 30-year mortgage rate is hovering around 7.25%. Including property taxes and insurance, the monthly cost of owning the typical home now runs about $930 more than the rent on an average apartment.
The 30-year mortgage rate would need to fall to 2.7% for the monthly payment on a median home to match average rent. That doesn’t factor in the cost of repairs as a homeowner.
Using a national average effective property tax rate of 0.9%, according to ATTOM, and an average homeowners insurance premium of about $2,900 a year, according to Insurance.com, the full monthly cost of owning the median home comes to about $2,840. That’s about $930 above average rent, before a single repair bill.
Then there’s the down payment. Twenty percent down on today’s median home is about $84,000, nearly a full year of median household income and the highest share of the five moments. It’s no surprise that the typical first-time buyer is now 40 years old and first-time buyers made up just 21% of purchases, a record low.
Source: RealPage
