PHOENIX RANKS NO. 3 AMONG MARKETS WHERE RENTING IS MORE AFFORDABLE THAN BUYING

PHOENIX ARIZONA REAL ESTATE

Phoenix Ranks No. 3 Among Markets Where Renting Is More Affordable Than Buying

By AZBigMedia, azbigmedia.com | April 20, 2026

Homeownership remains the goal for many Americans, and right now, the rental market is quietly making that dream more attainable. According to the Realtor.com ^® March Rental Report, renting a starter home remains the more affordable option across all 50 of the largest U.S. metros, with an average monthly savings of $920 compared to buying. For renters with homeownership in their sights, that gap is not just a reflection of today’s market, it’s an opportunity to build toward tomorrow’s purchase.

Those monthly savings can be put directly toward a down payment, creating a faster path to ownership and a lower mortgage payment when the time comes. The strategy is particularly compelling in rent-favoring markets where the percentage gap is widest. In Austin, Texas, where monthly buying costs run $1,719 (126.3%) higher than renting, the savings potential is substantial.

The national median asking rent in March 2026 stood at $1,669, down $25, or 1.5%, year-over-year, marking the 32nd consecutive month of annual declines for 0–2 bedroom properties. While still $249 (17.5%) above pre-pandemic levels, the median sits $95 (-5.4%) below its August 2022 peak.

“A person moving into the typical rental spends less each month than someone buying a starter home today,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com^®. “As buying costs have eased in many markets, renters who are intentional about saving have a real opportunity to build toward a down payment faster than they might think.”

The decision to rent or buy is deeply personal, and every family will need to weigh their own circumstances, including closing costs, equity built over time, and the opportunity cost of a down payment. Households can explore the longer-term trade-offs with the Realtor.com ^® Rent vs. Buy Calculator. And timing matters: Realtor.com ^®‘s recent Generational Wealth Report found that households that purchase their first home by age 30 see a 22.5% higher net worth by midlife compared to those who wait until their 40s.

Where The Savings Opportunity Is Greatest

In markets where the gap between renting and buying is widest, renters have the most to gain by redirecting monthly savings toward a down payment. The top markets where renting is most favorable:

Market	Median Rent	Monthly Buy Cost	$ Difference (Buy- Rent)	% Difference (Buy- Rent)/ Rent, 2026	Rent Cost YY	Buy Cost YY
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas	$1,361	$3,080	$1,719	126.3 %	-6.0 %	-8.8 %
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.	$1,862	$3,882	$2,020	108.5 %	0.4 %	-6.7 %
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, Ariz.	$1,435	$2,627	$1,192	83.1 %	-4.5 %	-11.2 %
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif.	$2,760	$4,986	$2,226	80.7 %	-1.8 %	-8.2 %
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$1,461	$2,639	$1,178	80.6 %	-3.2 %	-3.5 %
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif.	$2,691	$4,829	$2,138	79.5 %	-1.9 %	-5.3 %
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, Calif.	$1,820	$3,204	$1,384	76.0 %	-1.2 %	-3.8 %
Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, Tenn.	$1,477	$2,596	$1,119	75.8 %	-4.0 %	-9.6 %
Columbus, Ohio	$1,166	$2,046	$880	75.5 %	-1.1 %	-7.7 %
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.	$3,276	$5,701	$2,425	74.0 %	1.6 %	-6.0 %

Where Buying Could Become The Better Deal And When

The overall renting advantage has shrunk by $136 over the past year, as lower mortgage rates and home prices are making buying increasingly competitive. If current trends hold, with renting costs easing 1.5% annually and buying costs declining 5.9%, buying would become the more affordable option in roughly 10 years on average across the top 50 metros. But in a handful of markets, that crossover could come much sooner:

Metros Where Buying Is Within Reach If Today’s Trend Hold

	Median Rent	Monthly Buy Cost	$ Difference (Buy-Rent)	% Difference (Buy- Rent)/Rent, 2026	Rent Cost YY	Buy Cost YY	Years when Buying is More Cost- Effective if Today’s Trend Hold
Pittsburgh, Pa.	$1,459	$1,523	$64	4.4 %	3.1 %	0.3 %	1.5 yrs
Memphis, Tenn.-Miss.-Ark.	$1,106	$1,296	$190	17.2 %	-4.9 %	-13.3 %	2 yrs
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Md.	$1,808	$2,014	$206	11.4 %	-0.3 %	-5.8 %	2 yrs
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va.	$2,281	$2,988	$707	31.0 %	-0.9 %	-10.7 %	3 yrs
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla.	$1,661	$1,964	$303	18.2 %	-2.2 %	-6.3 %	4 yrs

“What’s striking is that the crossover in these markets is being driven by two different forces,” said Jiayi Xu, economist at Realtor.com^®. “In Pittsburgh, it’s rising rents that are closing the gap. In markets like Memphis and Baltimore, it’s buy costs cooling faster than rents. The path looks different, but the destination is the same, and it’s worth watching as we move through 2026.”

On the other end of the spectrum, the renting advantage is growing in three Midwest markets. Cleveland, Ohio now sees renting save $584 per month over buying, up $110 from a year ago, followed by Milwaukee, Wis. (+$65) and Detroit, Mich. (+$14).

A Shrinking Gap Is Not The Same As An Affordable Market

Not all markets where the renting advantage is narrowing tell the same story. In high-cost coastal cities, the gap is closing, but buying remains out of reach for most renters. In San Jose, Calif., buying a starter home still costs 74.0% more per month than renting. In Los Angeles, that figure is 80.7%, and in Boston, 62.2%.

The narrowing in these markets is real. Renting saved $420 per month less in San Jose compared to a year ago, $412 less in Boston, and $396 less in Los Angeles. But those are shifts at the margins of an already unaffordable market, not generally a signal that buying has become viable. The one exception here is the Washington-et-al, D.C. metro area where the sizable drop in the rental advantage was sufficient to place the market among the top 5 areas where buying could be within reach in the near future.

Top Metros With Diminishing Advantage In Renting

Market	Median Rent	Monthly Buy Cost	$ Diff. (Buy- Rent)	% Diff. (Buy-Rent)	$Diff. (Buy- Rent): Mar 2026 vs. 2025
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.	$3,276	$5,701	$2,425	74.0 %	-$420
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H.	$2,918	$4,733	$1,815	62.2 %	-$412
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif.	$2,760	$4,986	$2,226	80.7 %	-$396
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va.	$2,281	$2,988	$707	31.0 %	-$338
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, Calif.	$2,669	$4,296	$1,627	61.0 %	-$319

All Unit Sizes Saw Continued Declines

Median rent declined across every unit type in March 2026:

National Rents by Unit Size

Unit Size	Median Rent	Rent YoY	Consecutive Months of Decline	Total Decline from Peak	Rent Change – 7 Years
Overall	$1,669	-1.5 %	32	-5.4 %	17.5 %
Studio	$1,410	-0.7 %	31	-5.1 %	16.2 %
1-Bedroom	$1,563	-1.1 %	34	-5.8 %	17.1 %
2-Bedroom	$1,859	-1.7 %	34	-5.6 %	19.7 %

“We expect rents to tick up modestly as we head into the spring leasing season, which is typical,” said Xu. “But given the surge in multifamily construction over the past several years, we anticipate continued year-over-year declines. Rents are unlikely to reach a new peak by the end of 2026.”

Appendix

Market	2026 Mar Rent Cost	2026 Mar Buy Cost	$ Difference (Buy- Rent), 2026	% Difference (Buy- Rent)/Rent, 2026	2026 Mar Rent Cost, YY	2026 Mar Buy Cost, YY
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga.	$1,549	$2,238	$689	44.5 %	-3.1 %	-4.1 %
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas	$1,361	$3,080	$1,719	126.3 %	-6.0 %	-8.8 %
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Md.	$1,808	$2,014	$206	11.4 %	-0.3 %	-5.8 %
Birmingham, Ala.	$1,167	$1,359	$192	16.5 %	$0	-1.9 %
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H.	$2,918	$4,733	$1,815	62.2 %	-2.3 %	-9.2 %
Buffalo-Cheektowaga, N.Y.	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, N.C.-S.C.	$1,494	$2,137	$643	43.0 %	-2.1 %	-4.0 %
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Ill.-Ind.	$1,788	$2,535	$747	41.8 %	-1.6 %	-3.3 %
Cincinnati, Ohio-Ky.-Ind.	$1,309	$1,880	$571	43.6 %	0.3 %	-2.3 %
Cleveland, Ohio	$1,191	$1,775	$584	49.0 %	-1.4 %	5.5 %
Columbus, Ohio	$1,166	$2,046	$880	75.5 %	-1.1 %	-7.7 %
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$1,461	$2,639	$1,178	80.6 %	-3.2 %	-3.5 %
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, Colo.	$1,745	$2,821	$1,076	61.7 %	$0	-8.5 %
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Mich.	$1,258	$1,662	$404	32.1 %	-3.0 %	-1.5 %
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn.	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, Texas	$1,376	$2,147	$771	56.0 %	-2.9 %	-7.9 %
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, Ind.	$1,269	$1,697	$428	33.7 %	-1.1 %	-3.2 %
Jacksonville, Fla.	$1,479	$2,171	$692	46.8 %	-2.4 %	-8.6 %
Kansas City, Mo.-Kan.	$1,401	$1,592	$191	13.6 %	3.5 %	1.1 %
Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, Nev.	$1,436	$2,158	$722	50.3 %	-1.7 %	-5.1 %
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif.	$2,760	$4,986	$2,226	80.7 %	-1.8 %	-8.2 %
Louisville/Jefferson County, Ky.-Ind.	$1,220	$1,624	$404	33.1 %	-0.1 %	-2.4 %
Memphis, Tenn-Miss.-Ark.	$1,106	$1,296	$190	17.2 %	-4.9 %	-13.3 %
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Fla.	$2,254	$2,998	$744	33.0 %	-2.2 %	-5.6 %
Milwaukee-Waukesha, Wiss.	$1,621	$2,493	$872	53.8 %	0.7 %	3.1 %
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn-Wis.	$1,492	$2,299	$807	54.1 %	$0	-6.7 %
Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, Tenn.	$1,477	$2,596	$1,119	75.8 %	-4.0 %	-9.6 %
New Orleans-Metairie, La.	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.	$2,829	$4,775	$1,946	68.8 %	-1.6 %	-7.0 %
Oklahoma City, Okla.	$917	$1,470	$553	60.3 %	-5.3 %	-11.8 %
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla.	$1,661	$1,964	$303	18.2 %	-2.2 %	-6.3 %
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md.	$1,727	$2,339	$612	35.4 %	-1.6 %	-7.3 %
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, Ariz.	$1,435	$2,627	$1,192	83.1 %	-4.5 %	-11.2 %
Pittsburgh, Pa.	$1,459	$1,523	$64	4.4 %	$0	0.3 %
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Ore.-Wash.	$1,600	$2,760	$1,160	72.5 %	-0.5 %	-5.9 %
Providence-Warwick, R.I.-Mass.	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Raleigh-Cary, N.C.	$1,428	$2,274	$846	59.2 %	-2.0 %	-6.8 %
Richmond, Va.	$1,527	$2,378	$851	55.7 %	$0	-1.9 %
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif.	$2,039	$3,084	$1,045	51.3 %	-4.3 %	-5.5 %
Rochester, N.Y.	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, Calif.	$1,820	$3,204	$1,384	76.0 %	-1.2 %	-3.8 %
St. Louis, Mo.-Ill.	$1,280	$1,539	$259	20.2 %	-0.2 %	-2.8 %
San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas	$1,160	$1,836	$676	58.3 %	-4.5 %	-13.6 %
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, Calif.	$2,669	$4,296	$1,627	61.0 %	-2.8 %	-8.4 %
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif.	$2,691	$4,829	$2,138	79.5 %	-1.9 %	-5.3 %
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.	$3,276	$5,701	$2,425	74.0 %	1.6 %	-6.0 %
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.	$1,862	$3,882	$2,020	108.5 %	0.4 %	-6.7 %
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.	$1,655	$2,418	$763	46.1 %	-3.9 %	-6.2 %
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, Va.-N.C.	$1,559	$1,913	$354	22.7 %	1.9 %	-0.1 %
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va.	$2,281	$2,988	$707	31.0 %	-0.9 %	-10.7 %