For the past three years, would-be homebuyers heard the same advice: renting is throwing money away.
New numbers from real estate data firm Attom show that script has flipped in at least a dozen major metro areas, where the monthly cost of owning a median-priced home now runs 40% to 75% higher than renting a comparable place.
The typical mortgage payment on a median home there, including taxes and insurance, sits near $3,400 a month.
Renting that same house runs closer to $2,100.
That's a $15,600 gap per year — real money that a rent-vs-buy calculator puts in plain numbers instead of vibes.
Mortgage rates hovering around 6.5% to 7% mean a $400,000 loan costs roughly $2,530 a month in principal and interest alone.
Add property taxes, homeowners insurance, and maintenance, and the true monthly nut can land 30% above the sticker price most buyers budget for.
Rents climbed 3.4% year over year nationally, and in markets like Phoenix, Tampa, and Charlotte, landlords have pushed increases well past wage growth.
The break-even point — the number of years you'd need to stay in a home before buying beats renting — has stretched to seven or eight years in many cities, up from four or five before 2022.
That math matters because the average American moves every five to seven years.
If your break-even is eight years and you sell at year five, transaction costs — realtor commissions, closing fees, moving — can wipe out any equity you built.
Where buying still wins: Midwest and Rust Belt metros like Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and St.
Louis, where home prices stayed reasonable and rents have crept up enough that owning pencils out in under four years.
Cash buyers and people with assumable VA or FHA loans also face a very different equation.
Run the numbers with your real inputs, not national averages.
A good rent-vs-buy calculator asks for your down payment, expected rate, property tax rate, maintenance estimate (budget 1% of home value annually), rent you'd otherwise pay, and how long you plan to stay.
The output isn't a yes or no — it's a break-even year that tells you whether buying makes sense on your timeline.
One overlooked line item: opportunity cost.
A $60,000 down payment parked in a high-yield savings account at 4.5% earns about $2,700 a year.
That's money you give up when you sink it into a house, and most calculators bury it or ignore it entirely.
Our take: the rent-vs-buy decision has always been local, but the rate environment made it brutally personal.
If you're not planning to stay put for at least six or seven years, renting isn't losing — it's flexibility you're paying for.
Final Thoughts
Run the calculator before you let a Zillow listing talk you into a 30-year commitment.