Rent or buy: doing the math instead of the argument
Doorvia Guides · April 30, 2026
Compare unrecoverable costs on both sides - rent versus interest, taxes, fees and maintenance.
The honest comparison is not rent versus mortgage payment. It is unrecoverable cost versus unrecoverable cost. When you rent, that is the rent. When you own, it is mortgage interest, property tax, condo fees, insurance, maintenance and the opportunity cost of your down payment. Principal repayment is savings, not cost.
Add transaction costs. Buying and selling within a few years rarely works, because land transfer tax, legal fees and selling commission take years of appreciation to recover.
Run your own numbers for your own city and timeline, and weigh stability, control and the discipline of forced saving alongside the arithmetic. Both answers are defensible; only a guess is not.
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