While owning a home is priceless, buying one is definitely not. Renters who want to become homeowners seem to be stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to budgeting for homebuying.
But what if they could keep their monthly payments the same and realize their homeownership dream? Should they buy? To help answer that question, a new report looked at how much space renters could afford if they swapped the monthly rent for a monthly mortgage (with all the property taxes and homeowners insurance costs included).
This is what the report found for North Carolina:
- Renters turned homeowners would get more than 1,000 square feet for a mortgage similar to their current rent in all 5 of the state’s largest cities.
- In Greensboro, renters looking to make the switch to homeownership could get close to 1,100 sq. ft. for a mortgage similar to their current rent. In fact, Greensboro is in the top 20 large U.S. cities where renters would get the most space.
- For renters living in Raleigh and Charlotte, making the switch from rent to mortgage might mean 1,032 to 1,042 sq. ft. At the same time, both cities also display the highest average rents within the state (over $1,600) and the highest prices per square foot (more than $240).
| 1 | Colorado Springs, CO |
1,098
|
$1,534 | $47,854 | $239,269 | $218 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Greensboro, NC |
1,097
|
$1,239 | $37,257 | $186,283 | $170 |
| 3 | Henderson, NV |
1,096
|
$1,682 | $56,047 | $280,233 | $256 |
| 4 | Minneapolis, MN |
1,095
|
$1,660 | $47,551 | $237,757 | $217 |
| 5 | Pittsburgh, PA |
1,089
|
$1,475 | $41,098 | $205,489 | $189 |
| 6 | Norfolk, VA |
1,078
|
$1,371 | $41,976 | $209,879 | $195 |
| 7 | Memphis, TN |
1,072
|
$1,069 | $29,087 | $145,436 | $136 |
| 8 | Plano, TX |
1,071
|
$1,813 | $47,996 | $239,980 | $224 |
| 9 | Charlotte, NC |
1,042
|
$1,632 | $50,271 | $251,357 | $241 |
| 10 | Enterprise, NV |
1,032
|
$1,495 | $49,529 | $247,644 | $240 |
| 11 | Raleigh, NC |
1,032
|
$1,612 | $50,094 | $250,468 | $243 |
| 12 | Chandler, AZ |
1,026
|
$1,805 | $59,218 | $296,092 | $289 |
| 13 | Glendale, AZ |
1,020
|
$1,508 | $48,867 | $244,333 | $240 |
| 14 | Cincinnati, OH |
1,010
|
$1,273 | $34,454 | $172,271 | $171 |
| 15 | Nashville, TN |
1,006
|
$1,787 | $55,270 | $276,352 | $275 |
| 16 | Las Vegas, NV |
1,005
|
$1,460 | $48,309 | $241,544 | $240 |
| 17 | Durham, NC |
1,002
|
$1,575 | $47,478 | $237,388 | $237 |
| 18 | Bakersfield, CA |
993
|
$1,460 | $43,597 | $217,986 | $219 |
| 19 | Kansas City, MO |
993
|
$1,220 | $33,550 | $167,750 | $169 |
| 10 | Spokane, WA |
992
|
$1,342 | $40,711 | $203,554 | $205 |
