Trulia's Rent Vs Buy May 2026

: It counts the massive "sunk costs" of buying, such as the initial down payment, closing costs, and the 5% to 6% agent commissions you pay when you eventually sell.

Rather than pushing a one-size-fits-all agenda, it pits the unrecoverable costs of renting against the unrecoverable costs of homeownership across a 10-year span.

: This is the tool's secret sauce. It assumes that if you didn't dump your cash into a down payment and closing costs, you would have invested it elsewhere. Trulia's default assumes a baseline return on that capital, adjusting the final "savings" accordingly. Rent vs Buy Calculator - Trulia

: It aggregates mortgage principal and interest, property taxes, hazard insurance, and HOA fees, and factors in future inflation and rent appreciation.

: It pulls active market data to compare an identical tier of properties (e.g., comparing a 2-bedroom rental against the purchase price of a similar 2-bedroom condo).