Renting vs. owning: Which is cheaper in 2022?

Byron Lazine and Nicole White are two agents in Connecticut who give us their thoughts on the week’s news every Friday in “The Real Word,” a weekly video column on Inman.

For-sale-by-owner homes are the lowest they’ve been in 40 years, according to the National Association of Realtors 2021 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. As it turns out, when it comes to selling their homes, Inman reported, people want an agent by their side, guiding them through the process.

“Is this shocking to you — in the market that we’re in right now, where almost everything sells, there’s no inventory, and prices are at all-time highs — that even less people are deciding to do it on their own?” Byron asks in this episode. The duo weigh in on the report.

More this week: Even in 2022, the cost of homeownership is still much lower than renting. A new report by Attom Data Solutions revealed that, with the exception of big cities, owning a median-priced home was still more affordable than renting a three-bedroom home in 58 percent of U.S. counties.

But this doesn’t come as a surprise to Byron and Nicole. “Have you seen rents?” Nicole says. “I mean, it’s bonkers … ”

Marketeer of the week

For this week’s marketeer, here are 10 out of the box marketing ideas to get more eyes on your business. (Thanks to Bernice Ross’ Inman column published last week.)

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