This calculator is built for the growing number of New Zealanders who choose to rent where they want to live while buying an investment property somewhere more affordable, a strategy known as rentvesting. It compares the costs and outcomes of rentvesting against simply buying a home to live in, factoring in your rent, the investment property mortgage and rental income, ongoing costs, and the tax treatment of a rental. The tool helps you see whether the numbers stack up and how the two paths compare over time. The breakdown lays out your rent paid, the investment property cash flow, and the combined position, giving a realistic view of a strategy that is often discussed but rarely modelled clearly for the New Zealand market.
Rentvesting path
Buy a home to live in
This compares annual cash outgoings only, using mortgage interest as the carrying cost. It does not include principal repayment, capital growth, or the detailed tax treatment of a rental, which all matter and should be weighed alongside the cash flow. Estimate only, not financial advice.
The rentvesting outgoing is the rent you pay plus the investment property carrying costs, which are the loan interest plus annual costs, minus the rental income you receive. The buy-a-home outgoing is the interest on the home loan plus the home annual costs. The calculator compares the two annual figures so you can see which path costs less in cash terms. A rental that runs at a cash-flow loss is still common, with investors relying on capital growth, so consider the full picture.
Paying $600 a week rent is $31,200 a year. An investment loan of $500,000 at 6.5% costs $32,500 interest plus $7,000 of costs, less $28,600 of rent received, a net $10,900. Rentvesting outgoing is about $42,100. Buying a home with a $700,000 loan at 6.5% costs $45,500 interest plus $6,000, about $51,500. On cash flow, rentvesting is cheaper here.
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