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Los Angeles
- Buy or rent?: Buy
- After 3 years: Buyers save 3%
The buy or rent debate in Los Angeles is a closer call than in most major markets. Buyers who stay in their homes three years have a negligible savings advantage over renters, according to Trulia.
A lot has to do with where they live. Home prices vary greatly around the Los Angeles metro area with values on the fashionable Westside -- including pricey Santa Monica, Brentwood and Beverly Hills -- as much as four of five times those of less in-demand, inland areas.
Like all other markets, the payoff for buyers becomes more pronounced with time. After seven years, buyers will save 35% compared with renting, Trulia estimated.
Source: Trulia
Savings are based on a comparison of total housing costs for buyers and renters and include transactional cost, such as commissions, taxes, appreciation and opportunity costs, like the potential returns of selling a home. The calculation assumes homeowners will put 20% down on a 3.5%, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, will itemize deductions and are in the 25% tax bracket.
Savings are based on a comparison of total housing costs for buyers and renters and include transactional cost, such as commissions, taxes, appreciation and opportunity costs, like the potential returns of selling a home. The calculation assumes homeowners will put 20% down on a 3.5%, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, will itemize deductions and are in the 25% tax bracket.
- Last updated March 28 2013 12:23 PM ET
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