With a limited number of homes for sale and a lot of demand for those homes, the rental market in Miami has risen. According to a study by the National Housing Conference and the Center for Housing Policy, rental rates are rising, sometimes exceeding the cost of a monthly mortgage payment. Miami Dade County finished 36th in the Nation for the most expensive rent among 206 metropolitan areas.
In an article from the Miami Herald on the Florida Realtors site, they note:
“A Miami-Dade worker needs to earn about $43,000 to buy a house and $45,000 to rent. In 2007, the average rent was $1,018 a month in Miami-Dade, compared to $1,122 now. But the median price for a home went from $290,000 to $160,000.In 2007, according to the Center’s estimates, a Miami-Dade resident needed to earn about $95,000 a year to purchase a home that matched the median price of $290,000. Today, with the median price closer to $160,000, someone only needs to earn about $43,000 to buy. That still leaves low-paid workers out of the market. The average retail salesperson in Miami-Dade earns about $24,000, according to the estimates, while a janitor makes $25,000. But for a schoolteacher ($51,000), police officer ($50,000) or nurse ($41,000), a home is within the affordable range. The Center said it assumed the buyer would pay 10 percent of the home’s purchase price and assume the extra expense of mortgage insurance. Insurance and taxes are figured into the yearly cost needed.”
What does this mean for consumers? If you are trying to decide between renting another year and purchasing a home now, NOW is the time to buy. Interest rates have gone up slightly and prices have started to rise. If you are going to pay as much to rent a home or apartment, why not put the money into a mortgage payment (which will be about the same as renting) and OWN a home. We are here to help YOU, so give us a call today and let’s find the perfect home for you.
