Rent vs. Buy Quincy

Quincy’s real estate market has been a rising star among all of the neighborhoods in Metro Boston. Historically, housing prices have been between 10-20% less in Quincy compared to Boston, but more recently both rent prices and median home prices have been fast on the rise. This has shrunk a once healthy margin between the cost of housing in Quincy compared to Boston for renters and home buyers.

This article will take a mathematical approach to the classic rent vs. buy dilemma as it related to Quincy. To do this, we’re going to subtract the average monthly cost of owning a home in Quincy by the average monthly cost of renting an apartment. To estimate the average monthly cost of owning, we’ll use the most up-to-date median sales price data from MLS, current Quincy property tax rates, and the average Quincy homeowner’s insurance. Average monthly cost of renting is based on the average rent price of Quincy apartments.

We’ll apply this formula to both condo and single family property types. We’ll also compare different property sizes.