Part One: Renting Vs. Buying in Knoxville

To rent, or to buy, that is the question.

It currently costs less to buy a  two bedroom home in Knoxville than it does to rent a two bedroom apartment, if you plan on staying there for longer than a few years. The average list price of a two bedroom house in Knoxville is $94,900 and the average rent for a two bedroom apartment is $680. Operating under these assumptions, the average homeowner would save $13,690 over a 5 year period and $32,902 over a 10 year period.

This calculation comes from Trulia’s Rent Vs. Buy Calculator, which compares the average list price of two bedroom homes with the those of a two-bedroom apartments. The calculations also take into context things such as: utilities, property taxes, tax benefits of buying a home, insurance premiums, and other costs and benefits that come with renting an apartment or buying a home.

Knoxville is one of the many cities in the U.S. where buying a home currently costs less than renting an apartment.  Trulia.com recently released the 2011 Summer Rent Vs. Buy Index, which reports in nearly 74% of of the top 50 cities in the United States it costs less to buy a home than it does to rent an apartment. New York, Kansas City and San Francisco were among the few cities where it still costs less to rent an apartment.

Still, there are many other aspects to consider when making the decision of whether you should rent or buy. In Parts 2 and 3, of this blog post series, “Renting Vs. Buying in Knoxville,”   we will look at the pros and cons buying a home and renting an apartment.

If you debating Renting Vs. Buying in Knoxville, please feel free to contact me with questions at 865-696-9002 or email me at [email protected]. Or, don’t hesitate to leave a comment or question on this post.