Compare renting and buying over a horizon you choose.
Open the Rent vs Buy tool →We compare the net cost of each path over your horizon. Buying adds up the down payment, closing costs, principal & interest, and ownership costs, then subtracts what you'd net selling the home (its appreciated value, less selling costs and the remaining loan). Renting adds up the rent you'd pay (growing each year) and subtracts the investment gain on the cash you didn't tie up in a down payment. The lower net cost wins.
Appreciation, rent growth, and the investment return are your assumptions, clearly labeled, not forecasts. Two simplifications: ownership costs are held flat, and we don't separately invest the month-to-month cash-flow difference. Move the horizon and the rates to see how the answer flips.
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