Average U.S. median asking rents reached $1,703, declining a moderate 0.2% year over year
AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Most metros have become more affordable for both buyers and renters in the past year; however, renting a median-priced unit is still more affordable for median wage earners than buying the median priced for-sale listing in all major U.S. metros except Detroit and Pittsburgh, according to the Realtor.com® January Rent Report. Last January there were six markets where buying was less expensive than renting, which shows the impact of the consistent retreat of rental prices and the persistence of high mortgage rates. Over the past year, the market as a whole has moved in a more renter-friendly direction.
“For most Americans owning a home is still a big part of the American Dream, yet the lower monthly costs of renting in all but 2 of the 50 largest markets are a key consideration,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist, Realtor.com®. “This relative cost advantage is one of the reasons we expect an increase in renter households and declines in the homeownership rate in 2025.”
This article has a wealth of data and research in it.
To fully digest it all, CLICK HERE <—
I wanted to highlight this piece from the article…
| Metro | Median Rent (0-2 Bedrooms) | YoY Change (0-2 Bedrooms) | Share of Income Spent on Rent | Share of Income Spent on Buying |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | $1,710 | -1.6 % | 28.1 % | 34.0 % |
National Rental Data – January 2025
| Unit Size | Median Rent | Rent YoY | Rent Change – 5 Years |
| Overall | $1,703 | -0.2 % | 16.1 % |
| Studio | $1,423 | 0.0 % | 11.4 % |
| 1-Bedroom | $1,585 | -0.1 % | 16.0 % |
| 2-Bedroom | $1,887 | -0.2 % | 20.0 % |
Buy or Rent Favoring… Which Markets Fall Where?
While renting remains more affordable than buying across most metros, this report looks at the relationship among wage growth, mortgage rates, median rent and media listing price to see which metros are rent-favoring and which metros are buy- favoring.
Three metros–New York; San Jose, Calif.; and Detroit–are the only metros where the share of income used on both rent and buying a home are growing. In these metros it takes more income to both rent the median priced rental unit and buy a median priced home, becoming both less renter and less buyer-favoring.
One metro, Kansas City, Kan., is becoming more buyer-favoring. In Kansas City, a higher share of income is spent on rents and a lower share of income on buying. There are 18 metros that have become rent-favoring and where more of the median earner’s income is needed to buy a home than a year ago.
The Commercial Real Estate Alpha Site 
Leave a comment