Here’s an odd economic indicator (and glimmer of hope): in some parts of the country, it’s become cheaper to pay down a mortgage payment than to pay a rent each month.

It makes sense when you think about it. Even if the housing market has slumped to historic lows over the past couple of years since the economic collapse, there’s still been an enormous amount of movement between homes—especially when you consider how many people have been more or less forced out of their homes by foreclosure or unemployment-related financial difficulties.

This means millions of people have switched from owning a home to renting one, which, naturally, drives up rents nearly across the board. Combine higher rents with a historically buyer-friendly housing market (thanks to a tasty combination of low interest rates and low asking prices), and you’ll eventually reach the point where it makes more short-term financial sense to make mortgage payments each month instead of rent.

And according to the Dallas Morning News, this new reality adds a (lonely) positive spin to yet another report of sinking home prices in the North Texas housing market:

So if North Texas home sales are down 30 percent and the supply of houses on the market jumps 16 percent, what happens to prices? That’s right – hold on tight.

The latest Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Index numbers show that Dallas-area prices are down about 2.6 percent from a year earlier. […]

With the increase in apartment occupancies in the D-FW area, landlords are starting to ramp up rents. Tenants who haven’t seen a rent hike in years could be getting their notices in the months ahead.

“We are starting to see annual rent growth rates at that double-digit level start to emerge for select properties,” said Greg Willett, vice president of apartment analyst MPF Research.

So with home price bargains abounding in North Texas and mortgage rates running at the lowest levels in decades, what will apartment occupants do when they start getting hit with hefty rent increases? Many tenants in the newest rental communities are already spending the equivalent of a monthly mortgage payment.

“Property owners and managers absolutely do realize that significant rent increases will push some of today’s residents into more affordable apartments or into home purchase,” Willett said. “Texas, in fact, should be the big test case nationally where we’ll learn how vulnerable the apartment sector actually is to loss of renters to purchase.”

Potential homeowners weigh several factors beyond just month-to-month debts, and with the economy still fragile, many folks might be hesitant to take on the heavy long-term commitment of ownership—even if it makes short-term financial sense.

But the effect of this will still probably be a sort of “floor” for housing prices. If they go too low, it will only make sense for people to start buying again and pushing them back up. It’s a rare bit of hope for the Dallas market, but a real one. Contact one of our Dallas home loan experts for more information if it’s about time to buy.