Calculators
Rent vs. Own
Run your real numbers. See what renting costs you over your time horizon, what owning would cost (mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance), and how much equity you'd build. Free, no login.
Your numbers
Defaults are conservative national averages. Replace with your real numbers.
Side by side · 7 years
Over 7 years, renting leaves you about $6,157 ahead of owning. With your numbers, owning starts to make sense at a longer time horizon or a lower price.
Renting
$170,603
total rent paid
$50,663
if you'd invested the down payment instead
Owning
$154,157
home equity at year end
$280,254
total cash in (down + closing + carrying costs)
- Monthly mortgage
- $2,035
- Home value at year end
- $445,298
- Mortgage balance left
- $291,140
- Break-even year
- Not within horizon
This is an estimate, not advice. The math assumes a fixed-rate mortgage and steady appreciation. Talk to a FirstHome IQ ambassador for the picture in your specific market.
How this works
Owning side: amortizes a fixed-rate mortgage and adds annual property tax, home insurance, and maintenance based on your assumptions. Equity grows as the home appreciates and the loan is paid down.
Renting side: rent compounds at your assumed annual increase. To keep the comparison fair, the calculator assumes you'd invest your down payment plus closing costs in a comparable savings vehicle instead of putting it into a home.
What this is and isn't
This is an estimate. Real homebuying involves things this calculator doesn't model: closing dynamics, market shifts, life events, the value of stability. Use it to get a defensible answer, then talk to a FirstHome IQ ambassador for the real picture in your specific market.