For buyers — San Diego, CA
Every number below is an editable assumption, not a hidden default. This shows what the math says under the assumptions you give it — not personalized advice about what you should do.
Renting comes out $89,326 cheaper over 7 years
Buying doesn't become cheaper within your 7-year horizon under these assumptions.
Net cost of buying: $211,905 · Net cost of renting: $122,578
Net cost of buying= down payment + closing costs + all mortgage payments, property tax, insurance, HOA, and maintenance paid through year N, minus what you'd net from selling at year N (home value after appreciation, minus the remaining loan balance, minus selling costs).
Net cost of renting= total rent paid through year N, minus the investment growth on the down payment + closing costs — the money you'd have invested instead, had you not spent it on a home.
Simplifications, disclosed rather than hidden: no mortgage-interest tax deduction (it varies too much by household to model honestly here), no PMI, and only the upfront cash — not the month-to-month payment difference between renting and owning — is treated as invested.