The average Philly renter could afford to buy up to 1,500 square feet with their rent

It’s a common idea that real estate agents express to renters: For the price you’re paying to rent your home, you could own one. But what could renters get?

A real estate search portal looked at how much space the average rent could buy in the country’s 100 largest cities. In three-fifths of them, the average rent could purchase much less than 1,000 square feet, according to an analysis by Point2 published this month.

But in Philadelphia, renters could get much more space. The average city renter could buy up to a 1,462-square-foot home. The average monthly rent of about $1,900 translates into a renter being able to afford mortgage payments for a home that costs about $301,500, according to the analysis.

Only in Detroit and Cleveland could renters get larger homes with mortgage payments that matched their rent.

Philadelphia’s relatively low home prices compared to other major cities propels it toward the top of the list. Of the 37 large cities where the average renter could afford more than 1,000 square feet, many are in Midwestern states such as Ohio and Michigan.

Toledo, Ohio, offers aspiring homebuyers the most space for the least amount of money. For the average rent of about $880, they could buy up to 1,230 square feet of space.

» READ MORE: The Philly region is one of only four metros where buying a home is cheaper than renting, analysis says

Point2′s analysis considered median home prices and the price per square foot in each city. And it wrapped property taxes and homeowners insurance into the cost of monthly mortgage payments. But those aren’t the only costs homeowners have to pay.

Maintenance, upfront closing costs, and down payments also play big roles in determining whether a home is affordable to own. Point2′s analysis assumed a 20% down payment, which is out of reach for many people, especially renters buying their first homes.

According to Point2′s report, “the results of the analysis only reinforce the idea that owning a big enough home is just a dream in increasingly more places.”

The average renter could afford monthly mortgage payments for up to roughly 900 square feet in Boston, about 760 in Washington, and about 620 in New York.

Detroit offers the most space — a little more than 2,400 square feet. Then it’s Cleveland with just over 2,000 square feet; Philadelphia; and Baltimore with about 1,300 square feet.

Honolulu, San Francisco, and San Jose are among the cities where the average rent translated into a mortgage would buy less than 600 square feet.