Today Trulia announced America’s Top 10 Cities to Buy vs. Rent and the Top 10 Cities to Rent vs Buy. Trulia calculated the price-to-rent ratio using the average list price compared with average rent on 2 bedroom apartments, condos and townhomes listed on Trulia.com. To create the list, Trulia analyzed the largest 50 cities in America, by population. Top 10 Cities to Buy vs. Rent
| City | Price-to-Rent Ratio |
| 1. | Minneapolis, Minnesota | 8 |
| 2. | Arlington, Texas | 8 |
| 3. | Miami, Florida | 8 |
| 4. | Fresno, California | 8 |
| 5. | San Antonio, Texas | 8 |
| 6. | Mesa, Arizona | 9 |
| 7. | Jacksonville, Florida | 9 |
| 8. | Phoenix, Arizona | 10 |
| 9. | El Paso, Texas | 10 |
| 10. | Las Vegas, Nevada | 11 |
“At the peak of the real estate bubble, cities like Miami, Phoenix and Las Vegas were not affordable for many. Now the opposite is true,” said Pete Flint, co-founder and CEO of Trulia. “Home sellers in these hard hit areas are forced to lower their prices to compete with all the foreclosures on the market. As a result , these unattainable markets are so affordable it makes better financial sense to buy than rent.” Top 10 Cities to Rent vs. Buy
| City | Price-to-Rent Ratio |
| 1. | New York, New York | 33 |
| 2. | Omaha, Nebraska | 26 |
| 3. | Seattle, Washington | 25 |
| 4. | Portland, Oregon | 22 |
| 5. | San Francisco, California | 22 |
| 6. | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | 21 |
| 7. | Kansas City, Missouri | 20 |
| 8. | San Diego, California | 20 |
| 9. | Cleveland, Ohio | 20 |
| 10. | Dallas, Texas | 19 |
“It is not a surprise to see cities like New York and San Francisco on the ‘Rent’ cities but I was surprised to see areas like Omaha, Oklahoma City and Kansas City on our rental list, “said Flint “We’re not suggesting that it’s unwise to buy in these areas, though - just that it’s significantly more expensive than renting. In many of these cities, even though home buying is much more costly than renting, prices are still much lower than they have been in a long, long time.”
Trulia.com’s Rent vs. Buy Index - Interpretation Key
Price-to-Rent Ratio of 1-15: It is much less expensive to own than to rent a home in this city Price-to-Rent Ratio of 16-20: It is more expensive to own a home in this city are The total costs of ownership of a home in this city are greater than the costs of renting, but it might still make financial sense depending on the situation. Price-to-Rent Ratio of 21+: The total costs of owning a home in this city are much greater than the costs of renting.
Definitions: Total costs of home ownership include mortgage principal and interest, property taxes, hazard insurance, closing costs at time of purchase and ongoing HOA dues and private mortgage insurance, where applicable. Total costs of homeownership include an offset for the tax advantages of homeownership, including mortgage interest, property tax and closing cost deductions.
Total costs of renting include rent and renter’s insurance.
