Rent or buy — when does each one win?
01Buy side
$
% · $80,000
%
yr
%/yr
02Rent side
$/mo
%/yr
$/mo
yr
03 · The resultSee analysis ↓
⊘RENTING COSTS LESS
Break-even year
14.4 yrs
With these values, renting is the more economical path long-term.
With a 7-yr horizon, total rent costs are lower.
NowBreak-even yr 14.4Plan: 7yr
✗ Renting costs less within your time horizon
Monthly all-in
$2.9k
Monthly rent yr 7
$2.4k
Equity yr 7
$219.6k
Total difference
+ $24.2k
What tips it
Renting costs $24.2k less than buying over 7 yrs.
02 · The crossover
Total cumulative cost: buy vs rent (17 years)
Cumulative net cost
Buy
Rent
* The buy line is net: each year it subtracts the equity you'd recover by selling (minus 7% selling costs).
Advantage at yr 7
-$24.2k
By year 7, renting will have cost $24.2k less than buying.
Two key drivers
Rent escalation3% / yr
Home appreciation3.5% / yr
Investment alt7% / yr
When appreciation + rent escalation > investment return, buying ends up costing less over time.
Cumulative cost · year by year
first crossover
03 · Sensitivity
How does the break-even year shift?
After you decide buy
Mortgage calculator
Run the actual amortization · monthly payment · total interest over the life of the loan.
Open ↗Can you actually afford it
Affordability calculator
Reverse the question — start from income, debt and down payment to find your real price ceiling.
Open ↗Save your work