NYC rent vs buy breakeven calculator

Works for all five boroughs — defaults calibrated to Brooklyn (Williamsburg/Greenpoint). Adjust sliders for your neighborhood.

Key NYC considerations: Condos have very low effective property tax due to NYC's 4-class assessment system. Adjust the property tax slider for your borough: Manhattan ~0.85%, Brooklyn ~0.69%, Queens ~0.74%, Bronx ~0.92%, Staten Island ~0.68%. Buyer closing costs are brutal: mortgage recording tax (1.925% on loans >$500k) + mansion tax (1%+ on purchases >$1M). NY state + NYC income tax stack high (~10.7% combined), making the mortgage interest deduction very valuable. All transfer taxes, mansion tax, and mortgage recording tax are the same across all boroughs.

Purchase & financing

Purchase price

Down payment %

Mortgage rate

Mortgage term

Property tax rate (NYC effective for condos)

Ownership costs

Monthly common charges / HOA

Annual HOA growth

Monthly insurance (HO-6 condo)

Annual insurance growth

Annual maintenance (% of home value)

Roommate rent offset

Transaction costs

Buyer closing costs %

Selling costs % (commission + NYC/NYS transfer tax + misc)

Renting scenario

Comparable rent

Annual rent increase

Appreciation & investment

Annual home appreciation

Renter's portfolio return

Tax benefit

Marginal tax rate (fed + NY + NYC)

Filing status (sets standard deduction baseline)

NY state (~6.85%) + NYC (~3.88%) stack on federal, making deductions very valuable. Mortgage interest (first $750k of loan) + property tax (SALT cap $40k). Set to 0% to disable.

Breakeven year

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2-year gap

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5-year gap

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Monthly cost (buying, year 1)

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Net after roommate + tax benefit

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Buy: net wealth if sold in year N Rent: portfolio from investing instead

Year-by-year detail

Buy net = home value − loan balance − selling costs − initial cash (DP + buyer closing) + cumulative tax savings + buyer's invested surplus. Rent net = initial cash invested at portfolio return + renter's invested surplus. Both sides invest monthly surplus symmetrically. Tax benefit = marginal rate × max(0, mortgage interest on first $750k + property tax up to $40k SALT − standard deduction). Property tax assessed at market value (grows with appreciation). NYC buyer closing costs are unusually high (mortgage recording tax 1.925% on loans >$500k, mansion tax 1%+ on purchases >$1M). Seller pays NYC transfer tax (1.425% over $500k) + NYS (0.4%). NYC property tax for condos uses a complex 4-class assessment system; the effective rate is much lower than the statutory rate. Maintenance default 0.25% for condos (common charges cover most building costs). Excludes PMI if <20% down, renter's insurance (~$20/mo), and capital gains exclusion on sale ($250k single / $500k married if 2+ yrs primary residence).