- September 20, 2024
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Two cities in the region made it into a top 20 list of where it makes the most financial sense to buy a home rather than rent: North Port in south Sarasota County at No. 7 and Lakeland in Polk County at No. 16.
In a study from SmartAsset, an online platform that provides consumer-focused financial information, monthly mortgage and rental costs collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics were examined across 591 cities in the U.S.
North Port’s average monthly mortgage is $1,293, only $2 more than the average rental price. It’s the only city on the list where the mortgage and rental costs are that close together.
On a national scale, the No. 1 city where it makes the most sense to buy a home, not rent, the survey found, is Surprise, Arizona, northwest of Phoenix. No. 2 is Deltona, northeast of Orlando, followed by Palm Bay, on Florida's east coast in Brevard County. Notably, the only city in the top 10 that's not in Arizona or Florida is Hammond, Indiana, a Chicago suburb.
At a glance | |||
| City | Average Mortgage | Average Rent | Difference |
| North Port | $1,293 | $1,291 | $2 |
| Lakeland | $1,201 | $1,124 | $77 |
| St. Petersburg | $1,658 | $1,330 | $328 |
| Tampa | $1,750 | $1,327 | $423 |
In Lakeland, the difference is a bit higher, at $77. The monthly mortgage payment is $1,201 where monthly rent averages $1,124, the report found.
Other cities in the region didn’t fare so well on the survey. There’s a $328 uptick in price, with rental costs being cheaper, in St. Petersburg. Tampa has an even bigger difference at $423, with the average rent being $1,327 and mortgages averaging $1,750.
