Gasp! It’s better to rent than own in these 3 cities

To rent or to own? That is the question.

While the traditional answer was the latter, that is no longer always the case. Sure, the classic American dream includes home ownership—traditionally a house with a picket fence in the suburbs, though maybe today a condo in a vibrant city corridor, a so-called tiny house, or a tech-pimped rural cabin.

Not anymore, according to new LendingTree data. Three super popular metro areas have a spread so wide between renting and owning that it makes more sense to cut a monthly check to a landlord. They are:

New York (where the median monthly gross rent is $1,439 and the median monthly housing costs for homes with a mortgage is $2,802)
San Francisco ($1,905 and $3,088)
San Jose, California ($2,249 and $3,347)

“Renting might be the best option for someone who doesn’t plan on staying in one area long term or is having trouble saving for a down payment,” LendingTree says in its analysis. “On the other hand, buying a home can be a valuable long-term investment. In either case, cost is one of the biggest factors that people consider when choosing between buying and renting.”