Should you rent
or buy?
Not just a yes/no. Explore the whole decision: when to buy, where it pays off,
and how it plays out across hundreds of real-market scenarios.
Combined blends all property types, House uses single-family only, Apt uses condos/co-ops.
Have a townhouse? Pick House if you own the land and pay no HOA; pick Apt if you pay a monthly HOA fee.
Rent benchmark always uses combined data, regardless of which type you pick to buy.
Enter ZIP to unlock local prices, taxes, and rent benchmark
These are example values. Replace them with your own rent, budget, and savings to get an answer for you.
What you pay now
Max you can afford to spend
Cash you have available
Settings
We'll look up local home prices, taxes, and trends. Leave blank for national averages.
Defaults to national median: $277,000
Combined blends all property types, House uses single-family only, Apt uses condos/co-ops.
Have a townhouse? Pick House if you own the land and pay no HOA; pick Apt if you pay a monthly HOA fee.
Enter $0 if your home has no HOA. Typical condos $200–800/mo.
Own for the full horizon
Private Mortgage Insurance
A monthly premium charged when the down payment is under 20%. The simulator cancels PMI automatically once equity reaches 20% (via principal paydown or home appreciation).
Starting in 2026, PMI premiums are deductible as mortgage interest (One Big Beautiful Bill Act).
PRO Delay purchase timing, custom planning horizon
Affects your rate. 'Good' is the most common.
30y = lower payment. 15y = lower rate, less interest.
Leave blank to use today's rate for your loan length
Refinance Settings
ProModel refinancing when rates drop. Sets how big the drop must be, how much closing costs, and how many times you'd refi over your ownership period.
One-time fees at purchase (title, appraisal, lender).
Per year. ~$2K national average.
Yearly as % of home value. 1% newer, 1.5–2% older.
Movers, furniture, etc.
Listing commission + closing costs when you sell.
Why 4%?
Pre-2024: sellers typically paid both listing (~2.5–3%) and buyer-agent commissions (~2.5–3%) plus closing — totaling 5–6%.
Post-NAR settlement (Aug 2024): buyer-agent commission is decoupled — buyers can now pay their own agent. Sellers commonly pay only the listing side (~2.5–3%) + closing (~1%), so 4% is a reasonable national default.
Bump up for high-commission markets, or down if your buyer covers their agent.
Used to model tax savings on mortgage interest. Leave blank to skip.
Sets your standard deduction and tax bracket.
Charitable, medical, etc. Most can leave at $0.
Controls stock market exposure for surplus cash. Conservative = 0.5×, moderate = 1×, aggressive = 1.5×.
Our simulations use real historical market data. This slider adjusts how much extra caution you want to build in — move it right if you think conditions ahead are worse than usual.
Normal market behavior based on real historical data. No extra downturn scenarios added.
PRO Custom crash severity, recovery timelines, independent stock vs housing shocks