The gap between renting and owning in Philly
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Owning a home is 40% more expensive in Philadelphia than renting — a national trend playing out across all 100 of the largest U.S. metro areas, per a LendingTree analysis.
Why it matters: Housing costs have soared nationwide, with stubbornly high home prices and mortgage rates weighing on would-be buyers.
- Homeowners with a mortgage now pay around 37% more per month than renters, researchers found.
The big picture: Philly's shortage of affordable housing and declining home ownership rates are problems Mayor Cherelle Parker hopes to tackle through a sweeping initiative to build 13,500 homes and preserve 16,500 structures — a plan that cleared City Council this year.
- The intrigue: More Philadelphians are embracing micro-living to combat rising home prices.
State of play: Home sales have slipped about 14% in Philly from last year, per Zillow.
- Meanwhile, the average home price ($376,000) is up nearly 3%.
- At the same time, a growing number of Philadelphians are considered rent-burdened.
What they're saying: Philly developers are increasingly building apartments with luxury amenities to attract long-term renters who are staying put and waiting for home prices to stabilize, Drexel University economist Kevin Gillen tells Axios.
- Philadelphians now are left with a tough choice: either committing to "paying 10 years of a mortgage or paying rent month-to-month and enjoying the flexibility," Gillen says.
The good news: "Our affordability trends are heading in the right direction. It's not moving fast, but we're trending back toward normalcy."
By the numbers: In Philadelphia, the median monthly gross rent of $1,547 in 2024 was slightly higher than the national median rent of $1,487, per the report.
- Philly's median monthly mortgage for 2024 was $2,199, higher than the national median of $2,035.
Zoom in: A wave of transplants from pricier cities like New York over the last few years has put pressure on rents in Philadelphia, Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather told WHYY last year.
Between the lines: Nearly 40% of Philly's housing stock was built before 1939, potentially requiring costly repairs for first-time homebuyers to shoulder, per the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia.
- The median age of a Philly homeowner is 35.
What we're watching: President Trump has proposed a raft of policies meant to lower mortgage rates and boost home-buying demand.
- But making housing more affordable is easier said than done.