Nothing speeds up romance quite like a desperate housing market and the prospect of saving on rent.
As Valentine’s Day approaches, a new report from Realtor.com presents tempting logic for moving in with a significant other — and, should love really be in the air this season, it’s a move that can solidify a future together.
“Shedding one rent payment can help expedite saving for a future home purchase, especially in large US cities seeing near-record-high rents,” begins the survey. It found that renters in the nation’s 10 most expensive cities stand to save more than $900 a month, or $1,600 per person, by shacking up together.
Indeed, tenants in the country’s priciest metros — including Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Washington and Seattle — pay median rents starting just under $2,000 a month for studio to two-bedroom apartments.
Considering that Realtor.com found 22% of US renters hope to buy property in the next year, it may serve many lovebirds to share a place and save big — as, currently in today’s high-priced economy, many aren’t saving at all.
According to the survey, despite dreaming of homeownership, 13.9% of those hoping to buy in the next 12 months “have not been saving at all.”
Notably, this is a minority: Nearly half (45%) of those surveyed said they’d been saving for at least a year, but the amount they’re saving isn’t much in this market.
“Among renters saving to buy a home, 44% are saving $500 or less each month,” the report found. “At this rate, assuming starting from no savings, saving for a 10% down payment on a median-priced [US] home, or $41,000, would take almost seven years.”
Going from paying rent alone to splitting rent between two people, however, could “cut the time to save for a down payment substantially,” a positive prospect in an era of unaffordable real estate.