Compare the long-run wealth of buying a home against renting and investing the difference — and see how much the answer depends on the assumptions you feed it.
What this tool estimates
Rent versus buy is usually argued as a belief — "rent money is dead money", or "you can't lose on property". This calculator treats it as a calculation instead. It builds two parallel positions over the years you plan to hold: the net wealth you'd hold if you buy, and the net wealth you'd hold if you keep renting and invest the cash you would have committed to a home. The result is the difference between those two positions — a guide, not a verdict.
What drives the number
Three assumptions do most of the work: the property's capital growth, the return on money you'd invest instead, and how fast rent rises. Small moves in any of them swing the answer by a lot, which is the real lesson — there is no universal winner, only a result that follows the inputs. The model also weighs your upfront outlay (deposit plus purchase costs), the loan interest you'd pay, and ongoing ownership costs like rates, insurance and maintenance against the rent you'd otherwise pay. It deliberately sets tax, negative gearing and selling costs aside, so read it as a structural comparison rather than a precise forecast.
Use it as a starting point
Treat the figure as the beginning of the conversation, not the end of it. Buying is also a security and lifestyle decision, and the more useful question is usually how a purchase would be funded and structured — which lender's policy fits, and whether the plan still holds if the assumptions move against you. Book a strategy session and we'll run your real numbers properly.
General information only — not personal financial product or credit advice. The estimate is indicative and depends on your assumptions, each lender's policy, current rates and your full circumstances. AeFin is an Australian Credit Representative (CR 464548) of Finsure (ACL 384704).