Rent vs buy
Both paths over the years you will actually stay, with the costs people forget: closing costs, maintenance, selling costs, rent increases, and what the down payment earns if you keep renting. Mortgage rate prefilled from Freddie Mac (7.32% on 2026-10-22).
Buying
Renting
Savings accounts average 0.38% (FDIC, 2026-10); a broad stock index has returned more over long periods but swings. Inflation is 3.72% (CPI, 2026-09).
Over 7 years
—
$0net cost of buying
$0net cost of renting
—break-even year
$0mortgage payment (P&I)
Year by year
| Year | Buying: cash out so far | Equity + appreciation if sold | Net cost of buying | Renting: rent so far | Investment growth | Net cost of renting |
|---|
How it counts: buying cost = down payment + closing costs + every payment of interest, tax, insurance and maintenance, minus what you would walk away with if you sold that year (value after appreciation, minus selling costs and the remaining loan). Renting cost = all rent paid, minus the growth of the down payment and closing costs you kept invested plus any monthly difference when owning costs more than rent. Taxes on investment gains and the mortgage-interest deduction are left out; both are small for most households since the 2017 standard deduction change.