The Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin metropolitan statistical area was rated one of the best areas in the country to buy a home rather than rent.
SmartAsset.com used data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau 2015 American Community Survey on average rents and home prices and compared buying to renting in all metro areas with a population more than 200,000.
Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin had the third-highest rent versus buy index at 98.7. The average monthly mortgage payment was $485 and the average monthly rent was $1,008, according to the report. The average home price in the metro area was $175,235.
The company compared total costs of buying and renting in each area for a household earning $100,000 a year. Under the “buy” scenario, SmartAsset.com assumed a mortgage rate of 4.5%, closing costs of $2,000, and a down payment of 20%.
In the report, SmartAsset.com examined a break-even point in making a decision to buy or rent. The break-even point is were total costs of renting become higher than the total costs of buying. In the Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin area, the break-even point was 1.3 years.
In South Carolina, Columbia had the sixth-highest rent versus buy index at 96.1 and a break-even point of 1.5 years. The Charleston-North Charleston index was 89.8, and its break-even point was 1.8 years.
