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We Have the Numbers:Is it More Cost Effective to Rent or Buy a House in St. Louis?

Keep Calm and Do Your Math

Is it More Cost Effective to Rent or Buy a House in St. Louis?

This is the big question on a lot of people’s minds.

An important formula that can help you know if it makes financial sense to buy rather than continue to rent is the Price-to-Rent Ratio.
The cost of owning a home typically exceeds the cost of renting when the price-to-rent ratio (the cost of buying a home divided by the annual rent of similar property) is greater than 20.

Translation: When price-to-rent ratios go below 20, you should take a serious look at buying.

We found some analysis on the cost of home ownership versus the cost of renting. Working with real estate database Zillow, Business Insider broke down the nation’s biggest housing markets and found that price-to-rent ratios had fallen below 20 in most major cities — meaning buying is again a better financial proposition than renting.  (Click the lower right hand corner to expand the size)

Price to Rent Ratios in St. Louis

The chart below will show you current price-to-rent ratios in several popular areas in St. Louis.  If you are currently renting in any of these areas and the ratio is below 20 mathematically you will probably be better of buying instead of renting.  Call Finding Homes for You and we will help you kick-start the journey from renting to home ownership today. Phone:636-532-4200

AreaPrice to Rent Ratio Better to Buy or Rent
Ballwin12.2Buy
Brentwood11.2Buy
Chesterfield13.4Buy
Clayton20.9Rent
Creve Coeur14.9Buy
Fenton12.2Buy
Kirkwood13.4Buy
Ladue23.6Rent
Webster Groves12.1Buy
Wildwood14.1Buy
University City12.8Buy
O'Fallon9.8Buy
St. Charles9.4Buy
Wentzville10.5Buy

How to Prepare Yourself for the Buying and Selling Season

  1. Take advantage of some of the newest tools to educate yourself about the home buying process.  A great place to start is our interactive-online Doorsteps program
  2. Get mobile and get online active listings delivered right to your smartphone utilizing location-based results. Get a lot of information without getting out of your car. Download here
  3. Learn more about having your own Exclusive Buyer Agent to protect your interests 100% of the time avoiding any conflict of interests. Save time and money

Take advantage of our site where you will find all of the listings from all of the companies. Our information is refreshed every 24/7 and you can see the contract status for each property.
Call us at 636-532-4200 if you’d like to chat or have any questions

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