Report: Cheaper to buy than rent in Miami-Dade County, nationwide

Buying a home in Miami-Dade County could be cheaper than renting, according to a new study from RealtyTrac.

The study looked at the affordability of renting versus buying a three-bedroom home, and based its findings on how much each option would cost as a percentage of the median income of an area.

In Miami-Dade, the median rent would eat up 45 percent of a tenant’s paycheck, according to the report.

However, payments for a home — with a 10 percent down payment — would take up 34 percent of the median Miami-Dade salary.

The report states this trend was reflected nationally in 351 of the 461 counties RealtyTrac examined. It attributes the trend to slowing wage growths and increasing housing costs.

The most lopsided difference was in New York: rent consumes 96 percent of the city’s median income, while home payments take up 45 percent.

“From a purely affordability standpoint, renters who have saved enough to make a 10 percent down payment are better off buying in the majority of markets across the country,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac, in a statement. “But factors other than affordability are keeping many renters from becoming buyers, a reality that means real estate investors buying residential properties as rentals still have the opportunity to make strong returns in many markets across the country.”