New report: It's cheaper to buy than rent two-bedroom home in Cleveland

CLEVELAND - As housing prices and mortgage rates continue to fall, there's no better time to buy. But, not everyone is making the move into home ownership.

In just the last few months, there's been a shift in the housing and rental markets in Cleveland. The average rent is up $100 a month, according to a real estate website. And, when you crunch the numbers, it's actually cheaper to buy a two bedroom place than to rent one.

Chuck Fink loves to show off his University Heights home, from the new flooring to appliances. He said, "They provided everything new for us. We have our lawn care and snow removal included which is delightful."

You'd think Chuck owns this home, but he's a renter. "It was a safe move."

As a self employed musician, Chuck would rather be responsible for one bill than multiple bills, like taxes and a mortgage. But consumers may want to move past that, because real estate website Trulia found owning is cheaper than renting in 74% of the U.S., including Cleveland.

Jeff Steed, with Schmidt Mortgage Company said, "All the years I've been in this biz...to look at rates where they are today, I would like to say we are operating 24 hours a day with volume."

But, at Schmidt Mortgage Company it's just not the case. Steed said the employment numbers are a big reason why the housing market is still slow.

"If we could pick up the employment issue and begin to stabilize the population situation we would be in a better situation with supply and demand of housing stock."

There are too many homes for sale, but not enough homes for rent.

Akil Hameed of FASS Management and Consulting said, “We get over 1000 calls a month for people looking for places to rent. We really don’t have enough inventory."

With not enough inventory, rental prices are up.

FASS Management and Consulting said a three or four bedroom home in the suburbs rented for under $1,000 a few years ago. Now, it's over $1,000 a month.
It's expected this climate may continue for two years.

The treasury usually announces interest rates month to month, but recently said they'll stay low for an extended period.

Trulia has a calculator to help you decide if you should rent or buy a home. You can check it out by clicking this link: http://www.trulia.com/mortgage-calculators/06/rent-or-buy/.