A recent report from Realtor.com reveals that renting a home is currently more affordable than buying one in all 50 of the top metropolitan areas in the United States. Ralph McLaughlin, Realtor.com senior economist, joins Wealth to dissect the findings.

McLaughlin highlights that this marks the 12th consecutive month of year-over-year rent decreases, proving the growing affordability of renting compared to buying. He points out that the disparity is most pronounced in expensive markets on the West Coast and in Texas. While rents have dropped by nearly 1.5%, some markets, such as New York and Birmingham, are experiencing a narrowing gap between rental and purchase prices, encouraging more individuals to consider buying.

"The key factor to watch over the next 6-12 months is how much mortgage rates will decrease," McLaughlin tells Yahoo Finance, noting that this could potentially shift certain markets back into a more favorable position for buying rather than renting.

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This post was written by Angel Smith