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Los Angeles rent vs. buy calculator
Compare the monthly cost of owning a condo with renting, the equity you would build, and the year owning catches up with renting under your own assumptions.
In neighborhoods with enough active listings, you can start from today’s median asking price and rent. Published by Eltherion, LLC. Methodology.
Your comparison
Enter your own figures. Nothing is filled in for you except the two growth assumptions, which start at 0%. Your entries are not submitted to us; they are kept in this page’s address so you can share the result.
Start from today’s neighborhood medians
Fills in the median asking price and median asking rent from listings active on this site. These are asking figures, not closed sales, and not a particular home.
Your comparison
Enter 9 more figures to compare. Blank fields show “Not entered”.
The link includes the figures you entered, so anyone you send it to will see them.
A planning calculation under your inputs, not a forecast, loan quote or recommendation. It assumes a fixed-rate, fully amortizing loan with monthly payments; tax is the entered rate times the purchase price; insurance and HOA dues stay constant. Closing and selling costs, maintenance, special assessments, tax effects and what the down payment could earn elsewhere are excluded.
How it’s calculated
The loan is the price minus your down payment, paid monthly on a fixed-rate, fully amortizing schedule. Property tax is your annual rate times the purchase price. Insurance and HOA dues stay constant. The home’s value changes once a year by your appreciation rate, and rent changes once a year by your rent-growth rate.
Each year-end compares two numbers: what you paid to own, minus your equity, against the rent you paid. The break-even search runs through your stay or the loan term, whichever is longer.
Upfront costs matter too. Itemize closing taxes and compare monthly ownership costs for specific residences, and see how a special assessment or dues increase changes the monthly cost. See the neighborhood market reports for the medians behind the buttons.
Formulas
- Loan amount
L = price × (1 − down payment % ÷ 100)- Monthly principal and interest
P = L × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−n), r = annual rate ÷ 1200, n = term in years × 12At a 0% rate, P = L ÷ n.- Monthly cost of owning
P + price × tax rate % ÷ 100 ÷ 12 + insurance per year ÷ 12 + HOA dues- Loan balance after k months
B(k) = L × (1 + r)^k − P × ((1 + r)^k − 1) ÷ r- Home value at the end of year y
V(y) = price × (1 + home value change % ÷ 100)^y- Rent paid in year y
monthly rent × 12 × (1 + rent change % ÷ 100)^(y − 1)- Net cost of owning through year y
down payment + every owning payment through y − (V(y) − B(12y))- Break-even year
first year-end where net cost of owning ≤ rent paid to date, checked through max(years you stay, loan term)
Defaults and assumptions
| Item | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Home value change per year | Starts at 0%; not a forecast | Adjustable assumption: change it to match your situation. |
| Rent change per year | Starts at 0%; not a forecast | Adjustable assumption: change it to match your situation. |
| Price, down payment, rate, term, HOA, tax rate, insurance, stay and rent | Blank until you enter them | Modeling assumption: a simplification of the calculation. |
| Optional neighborhood prefill | Median asking price and median asking rent of listings active on this site, with the as-of date; asking figures, not closed sales | Source: Our neighborhood market reports. |
| Mortgage | Fixed rate, fully amortizing, monthly payments | Modeling assumption: a simplification of the calculation. |
| Property tax, insurance and HOA dues | Tax is your rate times the purchase price; all three stay constant | Modeling assumption: a simplification of the calculation. |
| Growth timing | Home value and rent change once a year | Modeling assumption: a simplification of the calculation. |
| Left out | Closing and selling costs, maintenance, special assessments, mortgage insurance, tax effects, deposits and the return the down payment could earn elsewhere | Modeling assumption: a simplification of the calculation. |
Estimates, not financial, legal or tax advice. Confirm the figures with your lender, escrow or title company, or attorney before you rely on them.
Read our methodology and editorial policy and corrections.
Common questions
What does the break-even year mean?
It is the first year-end at which owning's net cost is at or below the rent you would have paid. Owning's net cost is the down payment plus every mortgage, tax, insurance and HOA payment, minus your equity: the home's value under your appreciation assumption less the loan balance.
Why do appreciation and rent growth start at 0%?
They are your assumptions, not forecasts. We do not predict home values or rents, so both start at 0% and change only if you enter a different rate. Try several values to see how sensitive the answer is.
What does the calculator leave out?
Closing and selling costs, maintenance and repairs, special assessments, mortgage insurance, tax effects, rent deposits and the return your down payment could earn elsewhere. Each can change the answer, so add them to your own review.
Where do the neighborhood medians come from?
They are the median asking price and median asking rent for listings active on this site in that neighborhood, from the same data as our /market-reports pages, with the as-of date shown. They are asking figures, not closed sales, and a button appears only where both medians meet our minimum sample.