The latest RP Data Buy vs. Rent report suggests prospective house buyers would be doing their sums to determine if they were better off paying a mortgage or their landlord. National research director Tim Lawless said it now may be a good time to consider buying. "In some suburbs it may actually be cheaper than renting especially where we are seeing evidence of tight rental markets resulting in rental increases and lower home values," he said. The report analyses the difference between monthly mortgage and rental payments based on the median value of houses and units and median rents. Property specialists have in the past criticised the RP Data report as being too simplistic a comparison of the costs associated with buying and renting.

In June last year there were 179 suburbs where buyers were better off servicing the principal and interest on a variable mortgage loan. Now there were 692. Queensland, with 242 suburbs, and NSW with 193 offered the most opportunities to buyers. Victoria (45) and Canberra (6) trailed behind the other states with Western Australia (78), Tasmania (54) and South Australia (45) taking the middle ground. Melbourne had only two suburbs that were cheaper. The majority of localities where it was cheaper to rent rather than buy were in regional areas, RP Data said. And for the buyers willing to pay $50 a week more off their mortgage, the choice of suburbs shot up to 1069. The housing finance data is unlikely to change expectations of an August rate cut.Westpac senior economist Matthew Hassan said the figures showed the housing sector was on the road to recovery but that it was happening slower than expected, given the record low interest rates.

"Given the degree of stimulus that we’ve seen, particularly from interest rate cuts, you might expect a stronger recovery at this stage, so in a sense, it’s still a little bit disappointing," Mr Hassan said. Home loans growth Mortgage numbers rose 1.8 per cent in May, according the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the month the RBA trimmed the cash rate to 2.75 per cent. ANZ head of property research Paul Braddick said low interest rates were working, especially in NSW after eight years of struggle. "The market forecast was slightly higher but I'd still characterise this as a pretty strong number and it stands in pretty stark contrast to the weakness we've seen in a lot of the broader economic data over the last month," he said.

The housing finance data is unlikely to change expectations of an August rate cut. Westpac senior economist Matthew Hassan said the figures showed the housing sector was on the road to recovery but that it was happening slower than expected, given the record low interest rates." Given the degree of stimulus that we've seen, particularly from interest rate cuts, you might expect a stronger recovery at this stage, so in a sense, it's still a little bit disappointing," Mr Hassan said. With AAP