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Australia·Calculators·Rent vs buy

Rent vs buy calculator

Compare two user-defined scenarios over the same period.

Your numbers
A$AUD
A$AUD
A$AUD
% p.a.
years
A$AUD / week
% of property value
% p.a.
% p.a.
% p.a.
years
Buying ahead by:
A$35,006.76
After 10 years on these assumptions
Buying, net positionA$573,265.99
Renting, net positionA$538,259.23
DifferenceA$35,006.76
Better on these numbersBuying
An estimate from the inputs you enter, not financial advice and not a forecast. Read the assumptions and exclusions on this page before relying on it.
All rates, growth assumptions, costs and amounts are supplied by the user; no market forecast or property estimate is supplied. The renter invests the deposit and buying costs avoided; each month applies investment return first, then invests or withdraws owner costs minus rent at month-end. The first unfunded withdrawal stops the comparison as unsupported, reporting its month and shortfall; borrowing is not modelled. The owner uses a level monthly principal-and-interest mortgage and builds equity from the modelled home value less the remaining balance. Home value, rent and the renter investment balance change monthly at the annual rates entered by the user. Tax, selling costs, mortgage fees, rent deposits and unlisted ownership costs are excluded unless reflected in the entered assumptions. Transfer duty, grants, concessions and land tax are not determined; enter applicable costs yourself. An estimate from the inputs you enter, not financial advice and not a forecast. Read the assumptions and exclusions on this page before relying on it.
Source: your own figures · user scenario, not a forecast or offerThe arithmetic is the same in every country

The answer is mostly your growth assumption

Change the property growth rate by a percentage point and the result can flip. That is the honest finding of any rent-versus-buy comparison: it is a forecast dressed as arithmetic, and the forecast is doing the work.

The renter starts by investing the deposit and avoided buying costs. The starting inputs are illustrative and all are editable: they are not quotes, cost estimates or forecasts.

Buying costs are a one-off cash payment at purchase, separate from the deposit and not added to the mortgage. Selling costs and tax are excluded. Ownership costs are a combined allowance for rates, insurance and maintenance, not separate estimates: each month charges one-twelfth of the entered annual percentage against that month’s opening home value.

The mortgage uses level monthly principal-and-interest payments at the entered annual rate divided by 12, over the entered term. Weekly rent becomes a monthly amount using 52 weeks divided by 12. Property growth, rent growth and investment return use equivalent monthly compound rates. Home value and rent grow at month-end; investment return applies before the month-end contribution or withdrawal. The comparison cannot exceed the mortgage term.

Common questions

Why does renting sometimes win?
Because the deposit is invested rather than tied up, and ownership costs are real. Over shorter periods, with modest property growth, that combination often comes out ahead.

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