Housing calculator
Rent or buy, compared month by month.
Compare buyer exit wealth with the renter's invested upfront cash and monthly housing-cost differences—without hiding transaction costs or negative balances.
Assumptions used
Every assumption is adjustable, bounded, and repeated in the current-model summary below.
Choose how many complete years to compare.
- Home price
- $500,000
- Down payment
- 20.0% · $100,000
- Mortgage
- 6.5% · 30 years
- Monthly P&I
- $2,528
- Starting rent
- $2,500 / month
- Rent growth
- 3.0%
- Home appreciation
- 3.0%
- Investment return
- 5.0%
- Property tax
- 1.2%
- Home insurance
- 0.35%
- Maintenance
- 1.0%
- Buying costs
- 3.0%
- Selling costs
- 6.0%
- Renter insurance
- $20 / month
- Horizon
- 15 years
Positive result
Buyer exit wealth
$442,008
Home equity of $488,747 minus $46,739 of modeled selling costs.
Positive result
Home equity before selling costs
$488,747
$778,984 home value minus $290,237 mortgage balance.
Positive result
Renter investment balance
$437,565
Unused upfront cash plus signed monthly cost differences and modeled investment growth.
Positive result
Net-wealth difference
$4,444
Buyer exit wealth minus renter wealth. Positive favors buying only inside this model; negative favors renting.
Caution
Owner unrecoverable costs
$647,444
Buying and modeled selling costs, mortgage interest, property tax, home insurance, and maintenance.
Caution
Renter unrecoverable costs
$569,199
Cumulative rent and renter insurance over the modeled horizon.
Positive result
Model-dependent durable break-even
Month 174 (14 years, 6 months)
First month buyer wealth is at least renter wealth and remains so through the horizon. Model-dependent, not advice.
Monthly cash-flow conventionThe renter account earns one month of return first, then receives owner housing cost minus renter housing cost. Negative balances remain signed so months when owning is cheaper receive equal and opposite treatment.
Buyer wealth, renter wealth, and the difference
The zero line makes negative values explicit. Line styles, labels, and the annual semantic table carry the same meaning without relying on color.
| Projection year | Buyer exit wealth | Renter investment | Buyer minus renter | Owner unrecoverable costs | Renter unrecoverable costs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | $70,000 | $115,000 | -$45,000 | $45,000 | $0 |
| Year 1 | $88,571 | $133,652 | -$45,081 | $84,693 | $30,650 |
| Year 2 | $107,864 | $152,700 | -$44,836 | $124,501 | $62,213 |
| Year 3 | $127,913 | $172,148 | -$44,235 | $164,417 | $94,715 |
| Year 4 | $148,751 | $192,000 | -$43,249 | $204,431 | $128,185 |
| Year 5 | $170,415 | $212,257 | -$41,842 | $244,536 | $162,652 |
| Year 6 | $192,943 | $232,924 | -$39,981 | $284,719 | $198,146 |
| Year 7 | $216,376 | $254,003 | -$37,627 | $324,969 | $234,698 |
| Year 8 | $240,755 | $275,494 | -$34,739 | $365,272 | $272,339 |
| Year 9 | $266,126 | $297,401 | -$31,275 | $405,614 | $311,101 |
| Year 10 | $292,536 | $319,723 | -$27,187 | $445,978 | $351,020 |
| Year 11 | $320,035 | $342,462 | -$22,427 | $486,347 | $392,129 |
| Year 12 | $348,674 | $365,616 | -$16,942 | $526,701 | $434,464 |
| Year 13 | $378,510 | $389,186 | -$10,676 | $567,018 | $478,062 |
| Year 14 | $409,601 | $413,170 | -$3,569 | $607,274 | $522,960 |
| Year 15 | $442,008 | $437,565 | $4,444 | $647,444 | $569,199 |
How the comparison works
Mortgage payment uses P × r × (1 + r)^n ÷ ((1 + r)^n − 1), where r is the nominal annual mortgage rate divided by 12. A 0% mortgage divides principal evenly across the term. Payments stop after the term.
Appreciation, rent growth, and investment return use (1 + annual rate)^(1/12) − 1. The model keeps full precision and rounds only displayed values.
The renter invests the buyer's unused down payment and buying costs. After each month's investment growth, owner cost minus renter cost is added. A negative renter balance means the renting path has cumulatively needed extra cash under the entered assumptions; it is not silently clamped to zero.
Mortgage principal builds equity and is not an unrecoverable owner cost. Buyer exit wealth subtracts the mortgage balance and selling cost from home value. Break-even is reported only when buyer wealth remains at least renter wealth through every later modeled month.
Educational illustration only. Tax deductions, utilities, irregular repairs, and market frictions are excluded. The model-dependent break-even is not a forecast, guarantee, or individualized recommendation.
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Questions this model answers
What does the renter investment balance represent?
It starts with the down payment and buying costs the renter did not spend. Each month it earns the entered investment return, then receives the owner cost minus renter cost. It may be negative when the modeled renting path would require more cash.
What is a durable break-even?
It is the first modeled month when buyer exit wealth is at least renter wealth and stays at least as high through the selected horizon. It depends entirely on the entered assumptions and is not a recommendation.
Which ownership costs are treated as unrecoverable?
Buying costs, mortgage interest, property tax, homeowners insurance, maintenance, and the selling cost at that point are unrecoverable. Down payment and mortgage principal instead become home equity in this model.
Does this calculator include tax deductions or every housing cost?
No. It excludes tax deductions, utilities, irregular repairs, moving costs, mortgage insurance, association fees, investment taxes, and market frictions. It is an educational comparison, not financial, tax, or housing advice.