Using the Rent vs. Buy Calculator
The length of stay is central to the comparison. Purchase and sale costs are spread over fewer years when you move soon. Try a lower appreciation assumption to see how dependent the result is on a future sale price.
Worked example
Use the example inputs below to reproduce this result. These are the form's starting values, not recommended targets. Changing your inputs updates your result above; this worked example stays fixed for comparison. Results are rounded for display.
Example inputs
- Home price
- 300000
- Down payment
- 60000
- Mortgage annual rate (%)
- 6
- Mortgage years
- 30
- Years in home
- 5
- Monthly rent
- 1800
- Annual owner taxes, insurance, maintenance
- 6000
- Annual home appreciation (%)
- 3
- Purchase closing costs
- 6000
- Selling costs (%)
- 6
Example result
- Net buying cost after sale
- 78,750.44
- Total rent cost
- 108,000
- Buying savings
- 29,249.56
Method and assumptions
Includes sale proceeds minus remaining mortgage. Assumes constant rent and operating costs; excludes opportunity cost, rent escalation, tax deductions and investment returns.
Build a complete housing comparison
A housing calculation usually answers one part of a larger decision. Keep the purchase price, financing, recurring ownership expenses and eventual sale assumptions in separate lines of your budget. This makes it easier to spot costs omitted by a particular model. When comparing alternatives, use the same time horizon and currency for both.
Common question
Can the net buying cost be negative?
Yes. In a scenario with enough appreciation, the modeled sale proceeds can exceed the cash costs entered. That is a mathematical outcome of the assumptions, not a guaranteed profit.
Guide updated .