Should you rent or buy — on your real timeline?

When buying becomes cheaper than renting

Total cost of buying = down payment + closing costs (~3%) + mortgage payments + property tax (~1.1%/yr) + insurance (~$1,500/yr) + upkeep (~1%/yr) − what you’d walk away with if you sold (home value minus remaining loan, minus ~6% selling costs). Total cost of renting = monthly rent × months. The break-even year is when buying has cost you the same total as renting — after that, buying pulls ahead.

Short of the break-even, renting is cheaper in total cost. After it, buying pulls ahead — both because you're building ownership in the home instead of paying a landlord, and because the home's value grows on the whole purchase price while the amount you owe keeps shrinking. Two assumptions worth knowing: the comparison credits a renter for investing the upfront cash a buyer would tie up (down payment + closing costs) at ~7%/yr, but it does not model investing any month-to-month difference between rent and a mortgage payment; and property tax (~1.1%), insurance (~$1,500/yr), upkeep (~1%) and closing/selling costs use U.S. averages — nudge the inputs toward your own market for a sharper answer.