Compare buying a home against renting and investing the difference over the years you'll stay. The calculator builds each strategy's net worth year by year — accounting for the mortgage, taxes, maintenance, appreciation, and transaction costs — and finds the break-even year where buying pulls ahead.
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It compares two strategies with the same cash and budget: buying (you tie up a down payment, pay a mortgage and ownership costs, and build equity as the home appreciates) versus renting (you invest that down payment and any monthly savings at a market return). It then tracks each strategy's net worth year by year.
The break-even year is when buying overtakes renting in net worth. Before it, renting and investing leaves you wealthier — mostly because of the large upfront and transaction costs of buying. After it, the equity you've built and home appreciation pull ahead.
Buying has big one-off costs (down payment, closing, and ~6% selling costs) plus ongoing taxes, insurance, and maintenance. If you move before the break-even year, or if your down payment invested in the market would have grown faster than the home, renting and investing the difference can win.
Beyond the mortgage, include property tax, home insurance, maintenance (often ~1% of value per year), HOA fees, upfront closing costs, and the selling costs you'll pay when you exit. This calculator accounts for all of them and nets out the equity you'd recover on sale.