Montana Housing Market Dilemma: Renting Or Owning – What’s Cheaper?

Finding housing in Montana isn't the easiest thing these days. The cost of homes continues to rise, the high interest rates and high rent all play a part in finding a place to live. It doesn't look like it is going to get any easier any time soon.

One big question, when it comes to housing, is the debate between renting and owning.  That question isn't so easy to answer these days with the cost of rent continuing to climb. like home prices. For 2024 it looks like there are very few places across the country where it is cheaper to purchase a home than to rent, but there are some.

In Montana It May Be Cheaper To Rent Than Own, For Now

According to Smartasset.com, they looked at 343 cities with populations of over 100,000,  and analyzed where it  may be more cost beneficial to own a home versus renting a home. Billings, Montana is on the list, and you may not be surprised to learn that it may be cheaper to rent than to buy a home there these days.

They looked at homeownership costs, including mortgage, insurance, property taxes, basic utilities, and any association fees. For renting, they looked at rent and basic utilities to crunch the numbers.

In Billings It Is Cheaper Overall To Rent Than To Own

For Billings, they found rent would cost $1,085 a month where a mortgage (with all that goes with it) was $1,676, for a difference of $591 per month cheaper to rent. The most expensive city to own vs. rent is Berkeley, California. Renting would cost $2,009 compared to owning at $4,000 a month.

There are a few cities where it is cheaper to own a home than to rent. The top five cities where it is cheaper to own a home than to rent are all in Arizona and Florida. With the best place to own versus rent being in Surprise, Arizona where renting a home may cost $2,064 but owning a home may run $1,696, a difference of -$368.