CNN states the obvious: Buying a home in Dallas is better than renting

It says median home prices are $163,100.

How long would it take to break even on this home on Purdue?

I’m bullish on home ownership, even these last few days after I’ve dealt with spewing water pipes. But this report from CNN/Money made me laugh. Out of the top 10 metro areas in the nation, it tells us what we already know: Dallas is a great place to buy rather than rent, and with median home prices at $163,100, your break-even time (which they do not define but I am interpreting as the time to recoup a 10% down payment) is just under three years.

And no duh: You are better off renting in New York City, San Francisco, Boston, and LA.

Back home to Dallas again: That median home price is not a downtown condo. And they talk about Westover Hills, in Fort Worth, where it would take you 11 years to break even because of higher home prices. Somehow they managed to miss Highland Park entirely, where I’m guess-stimating a break-even of 12 to 15 years. But that’s what you get when you don’t have boots on the ground reporting.

Do you agree with this report? What is the break-even time on home ownership in downtown Dallas and Highland Park?