Rent vs buy — the 5-year net cost
Province-aware closing costs, semi-annual-compounded carrying costs, and an opportunity-cost portfolio for the renter's down-payment cash. See when — or whether — buying wins.
Start here · Canada
Get a Canada-ready pre-approval file, not a generic quote.
We shape the file to how Canada underwriters actually read it — closing math, lender appetite, and the small regional details that decide the approval.
Inputs
Result
- Down payment$150,000
- Closing costs$15,750
- Cash to close$165,750
- Mortgage (incl. CMHC)$600,000
- Monthly P&I$3,418
- Breakevenbeyond 5 yrs
- Equity at horizon$340,180
"Net cost" = cash paid — sale proceeds after mortgage payoff (buying) vs rent paid — growth of the down-payment cash a renter kept invested. On typical Canadian assumptions, buying pulls even around year 4–6; anything shorter usually favours renting because closing + selling costs eat most of the appreciation. The single biggest lever isn't rate — it's how long you'll stay.
Leverage moves
- Under a 3-year horizon, buying almost never wins unless the market is running >7%/yr.
- Condo fees + property tax on a $750K home routinely add $1,000–1,400/mo — that's your true carrying cost, not the mortgage payment.
- Selling costs eat 4–5.5% of the sale price. Model them honestly; most rent-vs-buy calculators quietly omit them.
- Renter's opportunity cost is real — a 5% portfolio return on $165,750 over 5 years compounds to real money.
Ready when you are
Turn this number into a pre-approval file.
The math is the easy part. The approval hinges on how the file is packaged — income, down payment source, credit, and property notes underwriters actually read.