The Pros and Cons of Renting After You Sell Your Home
For some, choosing to sell their house and then rent can be the perfect way to avoid the mad rush to find a new place in a tough market.
If you’re not 100% sold on buying again or want to wait until the market cools to purchase, you may consider renting after you sell your home. This option comes with a unique set of pros and cons you’ll want to know before you commit to the transition.
Get an Estimate on Your Home’s Value
The potential rent your house could get correlates with your home value. Get an estimate based on real-world transaction data from your area.
Benefits of renting after selling
For some, renting after selling can be the perfect way to avoid the rush to find a new place — especially if you’re in a seller’s market with low inventory and fierce buyer competition. Here are just a few reasons you might choose to rent after selling your home:
Get into your next home faster
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) 2024 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report, buyers typically searched for 10 weeks and viewed a median of seven homes.
Gen Xers (aged 44 to 58) had the longest search at 11 weeks, while the Silent Generation (aged 78 to 98) had the shortest at six weeks. Home buyers split their internet searches evenly between desktops/laptops and mobile devices. Those 43 and younger preferred mobile devices, while those 59 and older favored desktops/laptops.
Additionally, according to ICE Mortgage Technology, a loan software firm, it takes buyers an average of 42 days to close on a home purchase loan. By comparison, most rental applications take about three days to turn around.
As of the January 2025 report issued by Rent.com, the national median rental price of an apartment stood at $1,599. Rents decreased by 0.1% annually and increased by 0.5% month-over-month. This trend continues the steady rent prices seen in the last two years, giving renters a predictable amount to pay every month.
