Buyer strategy
Rent or own? Watch where the money goes.
Slide in your rent and how long you plan to stay. See every dollar side by side: rent paid and gone, the true cost of owning, the equity you build, what the home could be worth, and when owning starts to win. Straight answers. Real numbers. Zero pressure.
If you rent
What you pay today.
The years you expect to live there.
Starts at the national rent CPI, +2.8% (Sept 2026). New York area: +4.0%.
An example. Use your own quote.
If you buy
An example price. Slide to the homes you are looking at.
Starts at Freddie Mac’s 30-year fixed average, 7.18%, week of Nov 5, 2026. Your rate depends on you, the loan and the lender.
Fixed-rate loan.
An example, as % of price. Your Loan Estimate shows the real figure.
% of the loan, only below 20% down. An example; your lender quotes it. Drops off at 78% of the price.
Owning costs
An example. Get a quote for the house.
% of the home’s value. 1% is a common rule of thumb, not a measured figure. Older homes often need more.
Zero for most single-family homes.
An example, as % of the sale price: commissions (negotiable, not set by law), conveyance tax, attorney.
The market, your assumptions
Your assumption, not a forecast. For reference, FHFA year over year to mid-2026: Connecticut +4.69%, New York +3.53%, US +2.13%.
Return per year if the down payment stayed invested. An assumption, not a promise; investments can lose value.
Taxes
Your top federal rate. Set to 0% to leave taxes out.
Counts toward the $40,400 state and local tax cap with property tax.
Charity and similar. Helps decide if itemizing beats the standard deduction.
Your real equity increase
What homes did in the last 10 years
FHFA House Price Index, all transactions, 2016 Q2 to 2026 Q2. The Fairfield County area is FHFA’s Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury metro. Past growth does not predict future values; values can fall.
Net worth, year by year
Move across the chart for each year’s numbers. The year-by-year table is below.
Rent paid, gone
What owning costs you
Equity from paying down the loan
Home value growth
Unrecoverable costs
Break-even year
Tax savings from owning
Opportunity cost of the down payment
Buying and selling costs
Monthly cash flow
The rent-increase shield
Price-to-rent ratio
Year-by-year table
| Year | Rent paid | Owner paid | Home value | Loan balance | Renter net worth | Owner net worth | Difference |
|---|
Totals are cumulative. “Owner paid” is everything out of pocket: down payment, closing costs, mortgage, tax, insurance, upkeep, fees and mortgage insurance, less tax savings.
How this comparison works
How the comparison works
Both people start with the same cash. The buyer spends it on the down payment and closing costs; the renter keeps it invested. Each month, whoever pays less invests the difference. At the end, the owner sells and pays selling costs. Whoever walks away with more is ahead.
Why short stays favor renting
Buying and selling cost money up front and at the end. Over one or two years, rising value and loan paydown often do not cover them. The longer you stay, the more those one-time costs are spread out.
Equity is forced savings
Part of every mortgage payment pays down the loan. That part is not spent: it comes back to you when you sell. Early in a loan, most of the payment is interest, so equity builds slowly at first and faster later.
What this tool does not know
Your credit, your lender’s pricing, the house’s real condition, future rents and prices, tax law changes, and your own taxes. Change the sliders to test the best and worst case, and ask a lender and a tax adviser about your situation.
How the numbers work out
Want to run this on homes you are looking at? I will walk you through the numbers on a real house in your town. Free, no obligation. For a rate or a loan, you will need a licensed lender.
Email me these numbersCall 914-409-5555Mortgage calculatorFull monthly budget
MARC NIETONieto Properties, brokered by Epique Realty914-409-5555
Marc@NietoProperties.com
MarcNieto.EpiqueRealty.com
Sources and dates. Starting rate: Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, 30-year fixed average 7.18%, week of November 5, 2026. Home values: FHFA House Price Index, purchase-only, four quarters to 2026 Q2 (Connecticut +4.69%, New York +3.53%, US +2.13%); past changes do not predict future ones. Ten-year history: FHFA all-transactions indexes on FRED, 2016 Q2 to 2026 Q2: Connecticut +90.6% (6.66% a year), New York +96.6% (6.99%), Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury metro +84.2% (6.30%), US +93.3% (6.81%). Rent: BLS Consumer Price Index, rent of primary residence, 12 months to September 2026 (US +2.8%; New York-Newark-Jersey City +4.0%). Connecticut mill rates: CT Office of Policy and Management, FY2027, assessed at 70% of value, CGS §12-62a(b); the tool grows tax with the home’s value. Federal taxes, 2026: standard deduction $16,100 single and $32,200 married filing jointly; state and local tax deduction capped at $40,400 (lower above about $505,000 of income, not modeled); mortgage interest deductible on up to $750,000 of acquisition debt. Insurance, maintenance, closing and selling costs, mortgage insurance and investment return are examples or rules of thumb, not measured figures; insurance and HOA fees grow with the rent-increase rate. Investment gains are shown before taxes, and the home is assumed to sell with no capital gains tax. This calculator is an illustration for a conventional fixed-rate loan with your own assumptions. It is not a prediction, a rate quote, a loan offer or approval, an appraisal, or tax, legal, investment or financial advice. Marc Nieto is a real estate salesperson, not a loan officer, tax adviser or financial adviser. Talk to a licensed lender and a tax adviser about your own situation. Marc Nieto, Epique Realty, CT Salesperson 0816891, NY Salesperson 10401349597. Equal Housing Opportunity.
This calculator needs JavaScript. A quick example: $3,000 a month in rent for two years, rising 2.8% a year, is about $73,000 in rent. Call 914-409-5555 and I will run your numbers.
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