Guides

The rent-versus-buy question, one piece at a time. Every guide is worked with real numbers you can re-run in the calculator - no rules of thumb, no "it depends".

All guides The math (3)Rates & timing (2)Taxes (3)Myths (3)How it works (2)

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Is It Better to Rent or Buy?

At 2026's ~6.5% rates, our model shows renting beats buying by ~$67,000 over 10 years on a typical home. The 3 numbers that decide it, and when buying wins.

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At 6.5% on a $420,000 home

+$67,000

Renting and investing ends ahead. Buying needs rent above $2,468.

Taxes

Capital Gains on a Home Sale

Most home sellers owe $0: the Section 121 exclusion shields $250,000-$500,000 of gain. Our model shows where tax starts - near $950,000 homes on a 10-year stay.

3 min read Updated Aug 2026 Taxes

The SALT Cap and Rent vs Buy

The 2026 SALT cap is $40,400, phasing down above $505,000 of income. What it changes in rent-vs-buy math: nothing on a $420,000 home, about $21,000 at $1.1M.

3 min read Updated Aug 2026 Rates & timing

When Will Mortgage Rates Fall?

Forecasters now see 6.7-6.8% into 2027 - and raised those numbers in August. The math of waiting vs buying now: payment parity needs a rate below about 5.9%.

3 min read Updated Aug 2026 How it works

How PMI Actually Ends

PMI on a 10%-down $420,000 home runs $189 a month and ends at month 95 by payments alone at 6.5% — about $18,000 all in. The three exits, priced by our model.

4 min read Updated Aug 2026 How it works

What Selling a House Really Costs — and Why It Decides Rent vs Buy

About 6% of the sale price all in: $33,900 on our model's ten-year sale, $26,000 if you sell after one year. The line items, and why break-even years exist.

3 min read Updated Aug 2026 Taxes

Does the Mortgage Interest Deduction Still Matter? For Most Buyers, No

Year-one interest on the default scenario is about $21,700 — under the $32,200 joint standard deduction, its tax value is zero. Who still benefits, computed.

3 min read Updated Aug 2026 Myths

Does Buying a House Actually Build Wealth? Slower Than the Payment Suggests

Leverage, forced savings and appreciation against a 2.7% yearly carry and 9% round-trip trading costs: what wealth a house actually builds, and when it doesn't.

3 min read Updated Aug 2026 Myths

Is Renting Throwing Money Away? No — Here Is What Both Sides Actually Burn

The renter burns $2,115 a month, the owner $2,763 — and only $304 of the mortgage payment builds equity. What throwing money away actually looks like, computed.

3 min read Updated Aug 2026 The math

Should You Buy in an Expensive City? The Math Says Usually Not

In high price-to-rent metros our model has renting ahead by six figures, and no realistic mortgage rate closes the gap. Here is where the line actually sits.

4 min read Updated Jul 2026 Rates & timing

Rent vs Buy in 2026: What Today’s Rates Do to the Math

Rent vs buy as of August 2026: 30-year rates near 6.5-7% keep renting ahead in most US markets. See the exact rent, by rate, at which buying starts to win.

7 min read Updated Jul 2026 Myths

Is Buying Always Better Than Renting? No — Here’s When Renting Wins

Renting isn't throwing money away: our model shows ~$2,400 of an owner's $3,067 monthly cost is just as unrecoverable as rent. See when renting wins.

6 min read Updated Jul 2026 The math

When Does Buying Beat Renting? Finding Your Break-Even Year

Break-even is a net-worth crossover, not monthly-cost parity. Our model: no break-even within 30 years at 6.5%, but year 6 at 4%. Find your break-even year.

7 min read Updated Jul 2026

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