Estimate rent-vs-buy break-even over a horizon
zillow_estimate_rent_vs_buyCalculate cumulative buy vs rent costs over any horizon, including mortgage, taxes, maintenance, appreciation, rent growth, opportunity cost. Returns yearly costs, break-even year, net difference.
Instructions
Project the cumulative cost of buying a home versus renting a comparable place over N years. Accounts for down payment, closing costs, monthly PITI, maintenance (~1%/yr default), property appreciation (~3%/yr default), rent growth (~3%/yr default), and the opportunity cost of the down payment (renter invests it at the investment_return_rate, default 6%/yr). Mortgage P&I stops once the loan is paid off, so horizons longer than the loan term are handled. horizon_years and loan_term_years are capped at 50. Returns the year-by-year cumulative costs, the break-even year, and the net difference at the horizon. No network — pure local math.
Input Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| home_price | Yes | ||
| hoa_monthly | No | ||
| down_payment | Yes | ||
| monthly_rent | Yes | ||
| horizon_years | No | Default 7, max 50 | |
| interest_rate | Yes | ||
| loan_term_years | No | Default 30, max 50 | |
| insurance_annual | No | ||
| maintenance_rate | No | Annual % of home value, default 1.0 | |
| rent_growth_rate | No | Annual %, default 3.0 | |
| appreciation_rate | No | Annual %, default 3.0 | |
| closing_cost_rate | No | % of home price, default 2.5 | |
| property_tax_rate | No | ||
| selling_cost_rate | No | % of sale price, default 6.0 | |
| investment_return_rate | No | Annual return on the renter's parallel-invested down payment, default 6.0 |