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Jan 17, 2018

Question of the Day: What percent of the U.S. population lives in markets where renting is more affordable than buying?

Answer: 64%

Questions:

  1. In what regions of the U.S. is it cheaper to rent than to buy? What do you think explains these regional differences?
  2. If you could live in your dream city/state, which city would you live in? Would you rent or buy?
  3. Millennials are “delaying purchasing [a home] for a median of seven years” according to MarketWatch. Why do you think explains this?
  4. Do you have a desire to buy a house at some point in the future?

Here's the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers:

From Huffington Post:

However, when data are broken down by population rather than the number of markets, they show that the majority of the U.S. population — 64 percent of us — live in markets that are more affordable for renters than for buyers. “As home price appreciation continues to outpace rental growth in most areas, renting has clearly become the lesser of two housing affordability evils,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at Attom, in a statement. Check out this interactive map to see how the real estate data firm’s numbers shake out where you live."

Here's a screenshot of the interactive map, which your students will enjoy as they hone in on their home market:

 
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About the Authors

Danielle Bautista

Danielle is a native of Southern California and a recent graduate from the University of Maine, where she braved the frigid winters—a feat in and of itself—and earned her Bachelor's degree in International Affairs. She has a passion for working with non-profit organizations and serving populations in underprivileged communities. When Danielle isn't writing NGPF blog posts, spearheading various outreach projects, or managing contests and flash surveys, you can find her doing some sort of outdoor activity, learning a new hobby, or cracking what she thinks are witty puns!

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Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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