Rent vs buy in Massachusetts
At today's numbers over 7 years, renting wins in 22 of the 25 cities of 50,000+, buying wins in 1, and 2 are toss-ups.
Renting or buying in Massachusetts's cities
| City | Verdict | 7-year result | Break-even (up to 30 yrs) | Typical home | Rent /mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowell | Rent | renting wins by $9k | year 8 | $481,510 | $2,252 |
| New Bedford | Rent | renting wins by $40k | year 14 | $439,098 | $1,811 |
| Chicopee | Toss-up | toss-up, renting ahead by $1k | year 8 | $319,956 | $1,665 |
Sources: the Zillow Home Value and Observed Rent indexes, with verdicts from our rent vs buy approach at 20% down over 7 years.
What Massachusetts shows
Buying costs you far more than renting, so Massachusetts leans hard toward renting. Renting wins in 22 of the state's 25 cities of 50,000+ over a 7-year stretch, while buying wins in 1. While median rent nationwide runs $1,413 a month, a typical home costs $655k and median rent here is $1,762 a month. A $761,236 home in Boston rents for $3,271. Renting for 7 years saves you $10k, and you don't break even until year 8. A $1,482,662 home in Newton rents for $3,358. There, renting comes out ahead by $317k, and buying never pays off inside 30 years.
The math only flips with a much lower price tag. Buying comes out ahead over 7 years only in Springfield. Rent there is $1,822, and a typical home goes for $301,926. If you buy, you're ahead by $18k, and you break even in year 5. Renting wins by $83k in Cambridge, where a $1,019,246 home pushes break even to year 13.
Buying also slows you down because of high yearly bills. Your property tax comes to 1.07%, above the US 0.94%. For homeowners insurance you pay $1,474 a year, compared with the US $1,308 a year. Even so, prices rose 6.8% a year across the past 10 years, and that works in your favor if you stay put. Statewide, 37% of households rent, while the US figure is 35%.
Our take: for Massachusetts, renting is the better choice unless you're there 8 years or more. If buying sooner matters to you, Springfield is the place to look.