Why compare over ten years
Transaction costs make short holding periods expensive for buyers. A decade is long enough for appreciation and principal paydown to matter, yet short enough that many households can imagine the horizon. You can still move earlier; the model simply anchors on ten years of cash flows and a modelled sale.
Renting is not “throwing money away” in a vacuum: rent buys flexibility and shifts repair risk. Buying builds equity if prices cooperate and you keep paying — but leverage cuts both ways.
What the model counts
On the buy side we include down payment and closing costs up front, then P&I, property tax, insurance and a maintenance percentage each year. At year ten we estimate sale proceeds after a selling-cost percentage and remaining loan balance. On the rent side we grow rent annually and assume the cash that would have been down payment plus closing is invested at your stated return.
Net position subtracts outflows from ending wealth so both paths can be compared on one scoreboard. Small assumption changes can flip the winner — which is the educational point.
Sensitivities that matter
Appreciation and rent inflation dominate long-run results. Maintenance surprises and HOA special assessments can erase paper gains. Investment returns assumed for the rent path are not guaranteed; sequence risk is ignored.
Tax deductions, capital-gains exclusions and state tax interactions are omitted. High-tax states or large itemizers should speak with a tax professional before leaning on after-tax folklore.
How to use the output
If the gap between paths is small, lifestyle factors may decide. If one path wins by a wide margin under several reasonable assumption sets, dig into why. Read our rent vs buy framework guide for qualitative checklist items this calculator cannot score.
Privacy and honesty
Calculations run locally in your browser on HomeStack. We do not need an account and we do not receive the numbers you type. Advertisers help keep the tools free; ads are labelled. Affiliate links, when present, use rel="sponsored" and are described in the affiliate disclosure.
Housing choices are personal. This page quantifies a few cash flows — not happiness, school districts or job mobility.
Using this tool responsibly means entering figures from your statements or quotes, changing one input at a time, and treating the output as a conversation starter with a licensed professional — not a decision by itself.
Privacy and honesty
Calculations run locally in your browser on HomeStack. We do not need an account and we do not receive the numbers you type. Advertisers help keep the tools free; ads are labelled. Affiliate links, when present, use rel="sponsored" and are described in the affiliate disclosure.
HomeStack provides educational arithmetic only. Results are estimates. Confirm figures with primary sources and licensed professionals. Empty affiliate tags mean we currently link to official homepages without commission parameters.
Using this tool responsibly
Enter figures from your own documents when you need a serious plan. Change one input at a time when comparing scenarios so cause and effect stay obvious. Revisit after life events, rate changes or new plan documents.
Write down the scenario you chose and the assumption that mattered most. Bring that short note to your conversation with a lender, plan administrator, tax professional or licensed insurance producer, depending on the topic.