If you buy
$0
interest, tax, upkeep, selling costs, less appreciation
Calculators Rent or buy
Renters and buyers
Renters and buyers
Rent, or buy? The honest math.
"Renting is throwing money away" is a myth. Owning carries costs a renter never pays: mortgage interest, property tax, maintenance, and around 5% to sell. This tool counts all of it, plus the return your down payment could earn invested, and is perfectly willing to tell you to keep renting for now.
Your situation
Preloaded with a GTA example. Everything stays on your device.
The home you'd buy
$
10% down
$
%
yrs
If you rented instead
$
/yr
%
Assumptions (adjust freely)
/yr
%
/yr
%
/yr of value
%
/yr of value
%
/yr
$
/mo
$
of price
%
How long you'd stay
7 years
Buying breaks even around
Year 0
on total unrecoverable cost, once appreciation and your invested down payment are both counted
Total unrecoverable cost over 7 years
If you rent
$0
rent paid, less what your down payment earns invested
Projected net worth, and where they cross
YearIf you buyIf you rent
Cash to buy, up front$0
Down payment$0
Land transfer tax (net)$0
Legal, title, inspection$0
CMHC insurance (added to loan)$0
Opportunity cost of that cash by year 7$0
Down payment help: an FHSA can hold up to $40,000 tax-free toward a first home, and the RRSP Home Buyers' Plan lets you borrow up to $60,000 from your RRSP, repaid over 15 years. Both lower the real cost of your down payment.
Jay Patel
REALTOR® · GTA
If the math says keep renting for now, I will tell you that, plainly. My job is to help you make a good decision, not to sell you a house before you are ready.
A quick, honest note. This is an educational estimate, not financial advice, and the result depends heavily on your assumptions, especially home appreciation and investment return, which nobody can predict. The comparison assumes you sell at the end of your horizon and pay selling costs then, that a renter invests both the down payment and any monthly saving from renting, and that mortgage interest uses Canadian semi-annual compounding. The stress test qualifies you at the higher of your rate plus 2% or 5.25%, that affects whether you qualify, not this cost comparison. Toronto adds a second municipal land transfer tax. For a read on your specific situation, message me, and for tax questions, speak with an accountant.