Buy or rent — map — T3 in Dammarie-lès-Lys — main home · ID 06Main home

Year 20: if you had rented the same home with the same budget, investing what is left at 4.00% a year (the return on your money elsewhere), what would you have — and how far ahead is buying?

← Calculation mapSee the full calculation (year-by-year table) →
××+++++−++−€83,309Renter’s savings,end of year 194.00%Return on yourmoney elsewhere€3,332Interest earned,year 20€16,367The year’s budget(the same on bothsides), year 20€103,008Savings before therent€16,175Rent, year 20€192.00Renter’s homeinsurance€16,367Renting costs,year 20€86,641Renter’s savings,end of year 20€159,861Buyer: cash if thehome is sold, endof year 20€608.56Buyer: the owner’sinvestments, endof year 20€160,470What the buyerhas, year 20Buying −renting, year 20€73,829buying ahead for good from year 8
  • If you rent: your savings
  • Your return elsewhere
  • The rent (to a landlord)
  • If you buy
  • The gap

Year 20: the renter’s savings €83,309 + interest €3,332 + the year’s budget €16,367 − rent + insurance €16,367 = €86,641. The buyer would have €160,470 by selling (with the investments): buying is ahead by €73,829. The lines cross in year 8: from then on, buying stays ahead.

What this calculation leaves out

  • The same budget every year on both sides; whoever pays less for housing invests the difference (the owner, for example, once the loan is repaid). The comparison is only about where that money ends up.
  • The rate is after tax (no tax is simulated on top); the budget always covers the rent, so the savings never go below zero.
  • Same answer as the cost ÷ rent ratio: under 100 %, buying ends ahead at the sale year.

Each amount in the worked lines is rounded to the cent, so a line can differ by €0.01.