The assumption that most, if not all, renters simply can’t afford or qualify to buy simply isn’t true, particularly in big cities, according to a recent Zillow Renter Profile. In fact, San Jose, San Diego, and San Francisco have the largest segments of renters who have the income and credit score to buy in their respective cities.

This reflects the trend among young adults who are delaying homeownership longer than ever before as they complete their education and even start families.

The difficulty, of course, is that metro areas such as San Jose, San Diego, and San Francisco have a limited number of rental units and by delaying home buying the inventory is further reduced.

This won’t come as much of surprise but a new study by RealtyTrac’s Residential Rental Property Analysis reports that many renters would be better off buying a home than paying exorbitant rental costs in over 75 percent of all U.S. counties. The study indicates that fair market rents accounts for 28 percent of the median household income while monthly house payments – including a 10 percent down payment, property taxes, home and mortgage insurance – represents 24 percent 0f the median income.

Of course, actually saving for a down payment is often precisely the problem, made worse by the sky-high rental prices, which, then, often leads to the creative living situations as we’ve discussed previously.