The Big Picture
Renting can win this month. Owning tends to win the longer you own — and after you buy your first home, you’ll likely be a homeowner for most of your life, rolling equity from one place into the next. The sooner you start, the longer that wealth has to build. Run your real numbers and see the big picture, whether you buy this year or in three.
Your numbers
Defaults are conservative national averages. Replace with your real numbers — drag the sliders or type.
What you're paying now (or a fair estimate for your area).
Roughly what a comparable home costs in your area. Type any amount — the slider stops at $1.5M, the field doesn't.
The average first-time buyer puts down about 8%, not 20%. Assistance programs can cover much of this.
Not just this house — once you buy your first home, you'll likely own for most of your life, rolling equity from one home into the next. 10 years is a conservative start.
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The Big Picture · 10 years
Own for about 10 years and you could build $94,093 more wealth than renting, with $245,106 in equity that is yours.
- Monthly mortgage (P&I)
- $2,035
- Owning, all in, month 1
- $2,930/mo
- Total rent paid
- $247,620
- Home value at year end
- $518,085
- Mortgage balance left
- $272,979
- Break-even year
- Year 3
Owning starts costing about $2,930/mo all in, versus $1,800 in rent. Your two paths cross around year 3. A renter who invested every spare dollar would do better, but few do, which is why owning often wins in real life: the saving is automatic. If you will move in a year or two and not buy again, renting may genuinely be the smarter call right now — and that is okay.
Why we ask how long you’ll be a homeowner — not how long you’ll stay
Buying your first home is rarely a one-house decision. Once you own, you tend to keep owning — the equity from your first place becomes the down payment on the next, and most people stay homeowners for the rest of their lives. That is why the sooner you start, the more the math works for you: every extra year is another year of loan paydown and appreciation compounding on your side.
Your path to the front door.
You do not have to be ready today. These are the things that move you from renting to owning, in the order most people tackle them.
This is an estimate to help you think, not financial advice. It assumes a fixed-rate mortgage and steady appreciation, and counts the equity you build as a homeowner across the years (selling or moving carries costs of roughly 6 to 9% whenever you do it). By default it assumes you would not invest the money renting saves you, which is true for most people — turn that on in advanced if you would. A FirstHome IQ certified professional can run the picture for your specific situation.
How this works
Owning side: amortizes a fixed-rate mortgage and adds property tax, insurance, maintenance, and PMI while you’re under 20% equity. Your wealth is the equity you build as the home appreciates and the loan is paid down.
Renting side: rent compounds at your assumed annual increase. The renter keeps the down payment and closing costs as savings, plus any month where owning would have cost more. By default that money sits uninvested — because that is what most people actually do. If you would truly invest it every month, turn that on in advanced and see how the picture changes.
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.
Your first step, either way
Buying in this window? Make your FirstHome Plan, so you walk in knowing your real number. Staying put for now? Put the difference into a down payment fund and let it compound.