Buying a home is cheaper than renting in only 4 U.S. cities. Here's where they are.

Even with rent remaining painfully high in most large U.S. cities, buying a home is an even pricier proposition. In fact, there are now only four major metro areas where it's cheaper to buy a home than to rent, a new study from real estate company Redfin has found.

Those cities are Detroit, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Houston, Jason Aleem, the senior vice president of real estate operations at Redfin, told CBS News. In all other major cities — from San Jose, California to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — you're better off financially to stick with renting, the company's analysis found. 

Detroit, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Houston didn't see the same run-up in housing prices during the pandemic as other big U.S. cities, which is why they're currently more affordable for homebuyers than other locations, Aleem said. Home prices across the nation rose by double-digit percentages during the pandemic, and now house-hunter are facing another hit to their wallets because of the surge in mortgage rates.