Is Buying or Renting a Home Better Now? We Found Out.

I don’t think I’ll surprise anyone when I say that the fate of homebuyers — especially first-time millennial or Gen Z homebuyers — in 2025 is not exactly hunky-dory.

There’s a lot of doom and gloom, and I don’t want to fearmonger or ignore some of the bright spots in the overall housing market.

But here’s a fact that will really make the hair on the back of your neck stand up:

In today’s market, the average homeowner has to stay in their house for 7 to 9 years to make owning a better deal than renting. In the not-so-distant past, the rule of thumb was two to three years. That’s according to Amanda Pendleton, home trends expert for Zillow.

I interview her during an interview on Business Insider’s new “Well Spent” podcast, which I’m hosting.

With higher prices, interest rates, slower home value appreciation, and a booming stock market (where you could be putting your money if not sitting in a house) — the math has changed from the “old rules” on whether buying or renting is better.

Here’s something even more wild: In really expensive markets like San Francisco or New York City, it takes 15 to 20 years to make buying a better deal than renting, Pendelton says.

In the first episode of “Well Spent,” Pendleton talks to us about how renting is no longer seen by many as just a step along the way to eventual home ownership, but rather as a reasonable financial and lifestyle choice for grown adults.

We also speak with Business Insider real estate correspondent James Rodriguez about how 2025 saw record home prices — $435,300 as the median price nationwide — and the forces that drove this.

Rodgriguez also delivers some unfortunate news about the potential for a “silver tsunami” of boomers vacating their homes. “The people I’ve been talking to about this say it’s more like a glacier, and will happen slowly,” he says. “It’s not going to be this silver bullet for millennials who are waiting to get into the housing market.”

Don’t worry, there’s some good news, though. Rodriguez tells us what parts of the country are actually good places to buy now. And Pendleton says that compared to 2022 or 2023, buyers are starting to find things a little more favorable.

Pendleton’s biggest piece of advice? Millennials should be spending more time shopping around for a mortgage rate before they even open up Zillow.

See the embedded video in this story to watch the first episode of “Well Spent,” a video podcast by Business Insider hosted by me (Katie Notopoulos) and senior correspondent Emily Stewart.

On “Well Spent,” we’ll talk about how we buy, what we buy, and why we buy. And since a house is probably the biggest thing most people will ever buy (if they even do), it makes sense to start here.