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WHILE renting may seem the cheaper alternative to buying a home, new figures have revealed it can end up costing pretty much the same over the long term — and you’ve got nothing to sell at the end.

The figures collated by finder.com.au reveal that renting a house over 30 years will cost you almost $1 million, while buying a house at today’s current median house price will end up costing about $1.2 million.

Michelle Hutchison from Finder.com.au said the figures showed it was worth considering buying a home instead of wasting dead money renting.

“If you are renting that money has paid for someone else’s investment,’’ she said.

She said the total cost for a house based on the national median house price with a 30-year loan term was more than $1.2 million.

“Compared to renting, the national median weekly rent for a house is currently $424, which equates to about $998,830 over 30 years (adding current inflation of 2.7 per cent p.a.),’’ she said.

Ms Hutchison said it can be a tough decision to choose between renting and buying a home.

“The question to stay renting or to enter the property market is a constant struggle for many Australians because of property prices, saving for a deposit and uncertainty of interest rates,’’ she said.

“But if you compare the likely cost of rent for the next 30 years, it’s worth considering buying a home.’’

With the current low interest rate environment Ms Hutchison said it was more affordable to maintain a mortgage now than it was tHicks Real Estatee years ago.

She said while buyers were concerned about affordability, it was still a good time to enter the market because interest rates were low.

According to figures from RP Data Darwin has the highest median asking rent in Australia for houses at $650 a week.

Where the renters are

Darwin — 43.2%

Canberra — 31.0%

Sydney — 32.4%

Perth — 28.2%

Brisbane — 33.7%

Melbourne — 28.0%

Adelaide — 28.8%

Greater Hobart — 28.2%

Source: RP Data

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Hicks Real Estate is a Brisbane based, full-service real estate agency supporting buyers and sell as well as renters and property investors. With almost 20 years experience in the local market, we are the real estate experts you can rely upon.