http://money.msn.com/home-loans/5-places-where-renting-beats-owning
California
Among all states, California has the most areas where renting is more affordable than owning. In San Francisco, the gap between average monthly rents and mortgage payments is the largest nationwide, with homeowners paying $1,259 more each month than renters do, according to Marcus & Millichap. Last year, median-income households in the San Francisco metro area had just 66% of the income they needed to purchase a typical single-family home, according to the NAR.
In the Richmond district in San Francisco, rents for single-family, three-bedroom-plus homes start around $4,800. Similar homes for sale recently had asking prices that started at about $1.2 million, with property taxes around $6,800. Assuming a 20% down payment and an interest rate of 4.34% on a 30-year mortgage (the typical down payment and average rate on large loans, according to HSH Associates), monthly loan and tax payments total $5,345.
In San Jose, mortgage payments surpass rents by $1,050 per month on average, according to Marcus & Millichap. Last year, median-income residents had about half the money they needed to afford a typical home in the area, the NAR says.
And in Orange County, monthly mortgage payments are nearly $900 more than monthly rents, on average. In Laguna Beach, one of the most coveted coastal cities, rents for three-bedroom homes recently started at $1,850 per month, while monthly mortgage payments on for-sale homes (assuming a 10% down payment and a 30-year mortgage) were about $2,900.
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