For the first time in five years, in Trulia’s analysis of the economic benefits of renting versus buying, renting has come out as a better financial decision in two West Coast cities: San Jose and San Francisco, Calif.

In San Jose, home values have skyrocketed by 30% YOY from July 2017 to 2018, while rents have remained relatively flat. As a result, while San Jose’s median home value sits at $1.28 million, its median rent value is $3,500 – making renting 12.2% cheaper than buying. In San Francisco, median home values have risen 14.2% YOY to $1.4 million, while median rents have actually fallen 3% to $4,095. Here, renting is 5.8% cheaper than buying.

At the national level, buyers save about 26.3% in housing costs over renters, assuming households stay in their homes for seven years and take on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage, and put 20% down.

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