Home & Real Estate Calculators
Housing is the biggest line in most budgets, so rules of thumb like "rent is throwing money away" deserve a check against real numbers. These calculators answer the three big housing questions: rent or buy, overpay the mortgage or not, and what a rental property actually earns.
All home & real estate calculators
The numbers behind housing decisions
Three quantities drive nearly every housing calculation. Transaction costs are roughly 3% to buy and 6% to sell, which is why buying only beats renting when you stay long enough to absorb them, usually 5–7 years. Amortization means early mortgage payments are mostly interest, which is why extra principal payments early in a loan save so much. Yield is rent as a percentage of property value, and it lets you compare a rental against any other investment.
These calculators cannot price the non-financial side: stability, flexibility, and the freedom to renovate or to leave. Use the numbers to know the financial trade-off, then choose with open eyes.
Frequently asked questions
How long should I plan to stay for buying to beat renting?
Around 5–7 years is the common breakeven, driven mostly by the roughly 9% of a home's price lost to buying and selling costs. The rent vs buy calculator computes it for your rent, prices and rates.
Do extra mortgage payments really make a difference?
Yes. They go entirely to principal, so every future month's interest is charged on a smaller balance. On a typical loan, $200 extra a month saves tens of thousands in interest and several years of payments.
What is a good rental yield?
Gross yields of 5–8% are considered healthy in most English-speaking markets. Prime big-city areas run lower (3–5%), and cheaper regional markets run higher. Net yield after costs is the better decision number.
Last updated . Formulas are shown on the page and checked against the worked example.