The NYTimes has a good rent-vs-buy calculator that can help you figure out the cost (not cash flow) of owning vs renting. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2

The NYTimes has a good rent-vs-buy calculator that can help you figure out the cost (not cash flow) of owning vs renting. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/buy-rent-calculator.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/buy-rent-cal... You have completely neglected: - maintenance (1%/yr) - property taxes (1-2%/yr) - utilities included in rent - opportunity cost (8% return on alternativee investments) - transaction costs (4% to buy, 6% to sell) - rent growth (=home price growth IMO) - inflation (should =rent and home price growth IMO) - mortgage interest deduction Etc etc. The NYTimes calculator includes all of these. That said $3k/mo for a $450k home is heavily in favor of renting. The approximate cost to own the home is only ~$1500/mo. In SF a property that costs $3k/mo to rent might cost closer to $800k. That comes out to about the same cost either way, according to the assumptions I stated above.