Rent vs buy in 2026, the five questions

Nobody needs another think piece on rent vs buy. The answer depends on your situation, not on general advice.

Here are the five questions that actually decide it.

One. How long will you stay in this property? Under 5 years, renting usually wins. Buying costs include stamp duty, legal fees, and transaction costs that only pay back over longer holding periods.

Two. What’s the price-to-rent ratio in your area? Take the sale price of a home. Divide by the annual rent of a similar one. Under 15, buying makes sense. Over 21, renting is typically better. Between them, it depends on the other four questions.

Three. Can you afford a 20% deposit plus 6 months of expenses after moving in? If no, you’re not ready to buy. Lower deposits mean lender’s mortgage insurance, which is a tax on being unprepared.

Four. How stable is your income and location? If you could be made redundant, transferred, or change career in the next 3 years, renting protects your optionality. Buying locks you in.

Five. Do you want the property or the status? Be honest. If the answer is status, wait. Owning a home for the wrong reasons is the fastest way to hate owning a home.

Rule
Renting is not throwing money away. Renting is paying for flexibility. Buying is not building wealth automatically. Buying is taking on a 25-year bet on one asset in one place.

Action for this week
Answer the five questions honestly. Write the answers down. Read them tomorrow. The decision will be clearer than any article can make it.

Next week
Why your credit card minimum payment is designed to keep you broke.

Know someone agonising over rent vs buy? Forward this.

P.S. The best rent-vs-buy calculator is The New York Times one. Free, detailed, no agenda. Run your numbers through it before you sign anything.