Rent vs Buy Break-Even Calculator

This calculator works out how many years of ownership it takes before buying a home in New Zealand works out cheaper than renting, once the upfront and ongoing costs of ownership are weighed against the rent you would otherwise pay and the equity you build as house prices rise. Buying carries large upfront costs, such as legal fees and other buying and selling costs, that take time to recoup, so your break-even point shows whether your likely time in the home favours buying or renting. You enter the house price, your mortgage rate, expected house price growth, the weekly rent for a similar home, your yearly ownership costs (rates, insurance and upkeep), and the buying and selling costs involved in the purchase. The calculator steps through each year, weighing mortgage interest, ownership costs and the spread-out purchase costs against the rent you would have paid, offset by the equity gained from rising prices, and returns the number of years until buying pulls ahead, plus your yearly ownership cost and yearly rent for comparison. A shorter time in the home tends to favour renting, while a longer stay usually favours buying. This is a simplified model that ignores the opportunity cost of your deposit and tax, and it assumes steady price growth, so treat the result as an indicative estimate rather than financial advice.

Calculate.co.nz is proud to be partnered with Premium Homes, a recognised leader in eco-friendly, sustainable, and energy-efficient homebuilding. With a dedicated team and award-winning experience, they create homes that prioritise health, comfort, and long-term performance. Their founders, Andrew and Kelly, set out to raise the standard of residential construction in New Zealand by combining practical building expertise with a clear commitment to doing things better for homeowners.

A simplified model: it weighs mortgage interest and ownership costs and buying and selling costs against rent and house price growth on the full price. It ignores the deposit's opportunity cost and tax. Future growth is uncertain. Estimate only, not financial advice.