Rent or buy?
Test buying against renting with your own numbers and assumptions.
Buying comes out ahead after 10 years by
$23,112
- Owning, first month
- $3,098
- Renting, first month
- $1,800
- Cash up front to buy
- $47,500
- Break-even
- Year 8
Buying: home equity after selling costsRenting: invested savings
What this means
Owning costs $3,098 a month to start, all in, against $1,800 in rent. Whoever spends less each month is assumed to invest the difference.
Buying pulls ahead in year 8. Before that, the up-front costs of buying haven't paid back yet.
Estimates only. This isn't advice, a rate quote or a pre-approval. Your real numbers depend on your lender and your approval. Growth rates are your assumptions, not forecasts. Change them and see how much the answer moves.
Rules last verified: November 3, 2026
Sources and assumptions
- Interest Act, s. 6 (Justice Laws, current to 2026-10-19)
- CMHC, Premium information for homeowner and small rental loans
- CMHC, Home Start (minimum equity 5% of the first $500,000 and 10% of the rest, price below $1.5M, 30-year premium table, first-time buyer definition)
- Department of Finance, mortgage reforms (30-year amortization, $1.5M cap, from Dec 15, 2024)
- FCAC, Minimum down payment (modified 2025-10-15)
- gov.bc.ca, Property transfer tax rates (updated 2025-12-03)
- gov.bc.ca, First time home buyers' exemption, current amount (updated 2025-12-03)
- gov.bc.ca, Newly built home exemption amounts (updated 2025-12-03)
- Accelerated payments (monthly payment split in two or four) are an industry convention, not a regulation.
- Interest Act s. 10: on a term over 5 years, after 5 years you can repay with at most 3 months' interest.
- The FCAC page still says insurance isn't available at $1 million or more. CMHC and Finance both state the $1.5M cap, so the calculator uses $1.5M.
- Premiums shown are CMHC's. Sagen and Canada Guaranty publish their own tables, which weren't checked.
- No provincial sales tax on the premium in BC.
- Assumes a fully residential property of 0.5 hectares or less, bought by eligible buyers holding 100% of the interest.
- The additional 20% tax for foreign buyers doesn't apply in the Kootenay Boundary or Central Kootenay regional districts.
- Where you'd qualify for both exemptions, the calculator shows the larger one. Confirm with your lawyer or notary.
Other calculators
Want a second set of eyes?
Book a call and we'll go through your numbers together.