REALTORS® serving Calgary and area

May 01, 2019 | Tyler Difley

How much house could your current rent buy?

While the common refrain that renting amounts to nothing more than "paying your landlord's mortgage" is a bit misguided, it does raise an interesting question: what kind of house can you afford with what you're currently paying in rent?

Determining the answer to that question involves many variables, but the following calculations* – which assume that in each scenario your monthly rent is equal to your theoretical monthly mortgage payment – provide a useful baseline.

Rent: $900

  • Max purchase price: $182,452

  • Down payment: $9,123

  • Total mortgage amount (principal + default insurance): $180,263

  • Monthly housing costs (rent + property tax + utilities): approx. $1,300


Rent: $1,200

  • Max purchase price: $243,270

  • Down payment: $12,164

  • Total mortgage amount (principal + default insurance): $240,351

  • Monthly housing costs (rent + property tax + utilities): approx. $1,800


Rent: $1,500

  • Max purchase price: $304,087

  • Down payment: $15,204

  • Total mortgage amount (principal + default insurance): $300,438

  • Monthly housing costs (rent + property tax + utilities): approx. $2,100


Rent: $1,800

  • Max purchase price: $364,905

  • Down payment: $18,245

  • Total mortgage amount (principal + default insurance): $360,526

  • Monthly housing costs (rent + property tax + utilities): approx. $2,500


*All calculations were made using the RBC Rent or Buy Calculator, and assume for five per cent down payment, 25-year amortization and 3.5 per cent interest rate.

Tagged: Buy | Calgary | Calgary Real Estate | Calgary Real Estate News | down payment | Feature | Housing Market | Housing Market | Mortgage | Rent


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