Add this to your 2016 resolutions list: Buy a home in Philly. Sure, that may be a bit of a lofty goal for most folks, but a new study shows that it's a better bargain than renting. According to Realty Trac's 2016 Rental Affordability Analysis, renting takes a 30.5 percent chunk of your income in Philly, while owning a home costs just 18.1 percent. In fact, the analysis found that buying was more affordable than renting in 58 percent of the markets they studied.
Still, that's not to say that renting in Philly is a terrible idea. Compared to cities like DC and San Francisco, where more than 60 percent of folks' paychecks go to rent, in 2016 Philly is projected to be one of the most affordable millennial rental markets, where the average 3-bedroom apartment goes for $1,440/month. (Note: That number is expected to increase by 4.3 percent in 2016).
For the analysis, RealtyTrac looked at 50th percentile average rental data for 3-bedroom properties in 2016 from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, and weekly wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
· 2016 Rental Affordability Analysis [RealtyTrac]
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