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.
: It aggregates mortgage principal and interest, property taxes, hazard insurance, and HOA fees, and factors in future inflation and rent appreciation.
: 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.
Most basic calculators only compare a monthly rent check to a monthly mortgage payment. Trulia’s model—developed and iterated upon by its economic research team—uses a multi-step net present value (NPV) calculation to account for the opportunity cost of your money. The engine weighs five distinct pillars:
: 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
