NZ Buy vs Rent Calculator

Make informed property decisions

This calculator compares the long-term financial outcomes of buying versus renting in NZ. It accounts for all the costs involved in home ownership - mortgage interest, property taxes, maintenance and insurance - and compares them against the cost of renting while investing your savings elsewhere.

You can use the default values based on current NZ market conditions, or input your own figures for more tailored results. The results show your total wealth after a chosen timeframe, the crossover point where one option becomes financially better than the other and an interactive chart of how wealth accumulates over time.

Input Parameters

The current market price of the house you are considering buying.
$
The amount or percentage of the house price you plan to pay upfront.
The annual interest rate on your mortgage.
The number of years over which you will repay the mortgage.
The annual Council Rates as a percentage of the property value or as an absolute amount.
Estimated annual cost for home maintenance and repairs, as a percentage of the home value or as an absolute amount.
The yearly cost of home insurance.
$
The amount you would pay in rent if you were to rent instead of buy.
$
The expected yearly increase in rent prices.

"Preset Investments" allows you to select an investment to compare against.

The expected annual return on investments if you were to invest the money not spent on buying a house.
The expected annual increase in the value of the home.

Results

Total outcome after 20 years:

Buying outcome: $1,390,705.65

Renting & Investing outcome: $2,144,371.89

Overall Difference: $753,666.24

Recommendation: Renting builds more wealth

Crossover point: Renting builds more wealth throughout the entire period.

Buying outcome: Your net wealth from buying (home value minus remaining mortgage).

Renting & Investing outcome: Your net wealth from renting (total investment value).

Overall Difference: The difference in wealth between the two options. Higher is better for the recommended scenario.

Crossover point: The year when one option becomes financially better than the other.

How to Interpret Results

The calculator compares two wealth-building scenarios over 20 years:

  1. Buying: Home appreciation and equity buildup minus remaining mortgage balance.
  2. Renting & Investing: Investment growth from your down payment savings and monthly cost differences.

The scenario with higher net wealth is financially advantageous based on your inputs and assumptions.

Want to know more about how this calculator works? Check out our How It Works page.

Key Assumptions & Methodology

Default Values

We've pre-filled the calculator with realistic NZ market conditions based on current data. Feel free to adjust these values to match your specific situation:

  • Mortgage Rate: Typical current market rates
  • Property Tax/Rates: Based on NZ averages
  • Maintenance: Industry standard estimates
  • Rent & Investment Returns: Historical NZ averages

What We Calculate

The calculator compares your net wealth position after a specified period (default 20 years):

  • Buying: Home value + paid-down equity minus remaining mortgage
  • Renting: Investment portfolio value from savings and down payment
  • Includes all costs: interest, taxes, insurance, maintenance and rent increases
  • Accounts for home appreciation and investment returns