Long-horizon housing tradeoff
Rent or buy after the math has time to work.
Compare home equity with an invested renter portfolio over 5, 10, and 30 modeled years without reducing the choice to one payment.
Compare rent and buyingUse this when
You are comparing ownership with flexibility.Start with the payment, then test rent growth, appreciation, and investing assumptions.Source dates vary by dataset
Purchase scenarioHome equityPrice, rate, taxes, maintenance
Rental scenarioCash flowRent and annual rent growth
Market returnPortfolioDown payment and savings invested
Time horizon5 / 10 / 30Compare short and long holding periods
Run the comparison
Test the assumptions that change the winner.
Change home price, down payment, rent, tax rate, appreciation, and market return. The result is a planning model, not a prediction of future markets.
Purchase Scenario
Committed benchmark: 30-year fixed MORTGAGE30US, 2026-03-12 National survey averages; not a local quote, APR, approval, or forecast.
Rental Scenario
Market Assumptions
After 10 modeled years, this scenario favors
buy
by a modeled +$121,753 net-wealth difference.
An estimate, not a quote, guarantee, prediction, tax filing result, or lender decision.
Renting WealthBuying Wealth
Net Worth if Renting
$201,767
Assumes down payment and monthly savings are invested at 7%.
Total rent paid
$309,709
Net Worth if Buying
$323,521
Home value ($592,098) minus remaining loan ($268,577).
Modeled non-equity ownership costs
$282,378
Model logic
Sunk cost vs. opportunity cost.
This is not only a monthly cash-flow check. It compares buyer equity with a renter portfolio that invests the down payment and any monthly savings.
Renter portfolio
The down payment and monthly savings are invested at the selected market return.
Buyer equity
Home value is compared against remaining loan balance after principal paydown.
Growth assumptions
Rent inflation, home appreciation, and market return can move the result sharply.