The Housing Cost Calculator, updated in June 2007, compares the cost of owning a home relative to renting for a potential new homeowner. It reports the "Net Cost of Owning" — the expected amount of additional cash available to a renter compared to the amount available to a homebuyer who buys a home today and sells the home at a specified time in the future. The calculator takes into account the unprecedented run-up in real home prices since 1997.

Start Here: I am looking at a $ thousand million home in Abilene, TX Akron, OH Albany, GA Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY Albuquerque, NM Alexandria, LA Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ Altoona, PA Amarillo, TX Ames, IA Anchorage, AK Anderson, IN Anderson, SC Ann Arbor, MI Anniston-Oxford, AL Appleton, WI Asheville, NC Athens-Clarke County, GA Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA Atlantic City, NJ Auburn-Opelika, AL Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Austin-Round Rock, TX Bakersfield, CA Baltimore-Towson, MD Bangor, ME Barnstable Town, MA Baton Rouge, LA Battle Creek, MI Bay City, MI Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX Bellingham, WA Bend, OR Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick, MD (MSAD) Billings, MT Binghamton, NY Birmingham-Hoover, AL Bismarck, ND Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA Bloomington, IN Bloomington-Normal, IL Boise City-Nampa, ID Boston-Quincy, MA (MSAD) Boulder, CO Bowling Green, KY Bremerton-Silverdale, WA Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT Brownsville-Harlingen, TX Brunswick, GA Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY Burlington, NC Burlington-South Burlington, VT Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, MA (MSAD) Camden, NJ (MSAD) Canton-Massillon, OH Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL Carson City, NV Casper, WY Cedar Rapids, IA Champaign-Urbana, IL Charleston, WV Charleston-North Charleston, SC Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC Charlottesville, VA Chattanooga, TN-GA Cheyenne, WY Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL (MSAD) Chico, CA Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN Clarksville, TN-KY Cleveland, TN Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH Coeur d'Alene, ID College Station-Bryan, TX Colorado Springs, CO Columbia, MO Columbia, SC Columbus, GA-AL Columbus, IN Columbus, OH Corpus Christi, TX Corvallis, OR Cumberland, MD-WV Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX (MSAD) Dalton, GA Danville, IL Danville, VA Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL Dayton, OH Decatur, AL Decatur, IL Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL Denver-Aurora, CO Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, MI (MSAD) Dothan, AL Dover, DE Dubuque, IA Duluth, MN-WI Durham, NC Eau Claire, WI Edison, NJ (MSAD) El Centro, CA Elizabethtown, KY Elkhart-Goshen, IN Elmira, NY El Paso, TX Erie, PA Peabody, MA (MSAD) Eugene-Springfield, OR Evansville, IN-KY Fairbanks, AK Fargo, ND-MN Farmington, NM Fayetteville, NC Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO Flagstaff, AZ-UT Flint, MI Florence, SC Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL Fond du Lac, WI Fort Collins-Loveland, CO Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, FL (M Fort Smith, AR-OK Fort Walton Beach-Crestview-Destin, FL Fort Wayne, IN Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (MSAD) Fresno, CA Gadsden, AL Gainesville, FL Gainesville, GA Gary, IN (MSAD) Glens Falls, NY Goldsboro, NC Grand Forks, ND-MN Grand Junction, CO Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI Great Falls, MT Greeley, CO Green Bay, WI Greensboro-High Point, NC Greenville, NC Greenville-Mouldin-Easley, SC Gulfport-Biloxi, MS Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV Hanford-Corcoran, CA Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA Harrisonburg, VA Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT Hattiesburg, MS Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC Holland-Grand Haven, MI Honolulu, HI Hot Springs, AR Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH Huntsville, AL Idaho Falls, ID Indianapolis-Carmel, IN Iowa City, IA Ithaca, NY Jackson, MI Jackson, MS Jackson, TN Jacksonville, FL Jacksonville, NC Janesville, WI Jefferson City, MO Johnson City, TN Johnstown, PA Jonesboro, AR Joplin, MO Kalamazoo-Portage, MI Kankakee-Bradley, IL Kansas City, MO-KS Kennewick-Richland-Pasco, WA Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, TX Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, TN-VA Kingston, NY Knoxville, TN Kokomo, IN La Crosse, WI-MN Lafayette, IN Lafayette, LA Lake Charles, LA Lake County-Kenosha County, IL-WI (MSAD) Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ Lakeland, FL Lancaster, PA Lansing-East Lansing, MI Laredo, TX Las Cruces, NM Las Vegas-Paradise, NV Lawrence, KS Lawton, OK Lebanon, PA Lewiston, ID-WA Lewiston-Auburn, ME Lexington-Fayette, KY Lima, OH Lincoln, NE Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR Logan, UT-ID Longview, TX Longview, WA Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA (MSAD) Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN Lubbock, TX Lynchburg, VA Macon, GA Madera, CA Madison, WI Manchester-Nashua, NH Mansfield, OH McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Medford, OR Memphis, TN-MS-AR Merced, CA Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL (MSAD) Michigan City-La Porte, IN Midland, TX Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Missoula, MT Mobile, AL Modesto, CA Monroe, LA Monroe, MI Montgomery, AL Morgantown, WV Morristown, TN Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA Muncie, IN Muskegon-North Shores, MI Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC Napa, CA Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro-- Franklin, TN Nassau-Suffolk, NY (MSAD) Newark-Union, NJ-PA (MSAD) New Haven-Milford, CT New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ (MSAD) Niles-Benton Harbor, MI Norwich-New London, CT Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA (MSAD) Ocala, FL Ocean City, NJ Odessa, TX Ogden-Clearfield, UT Oklahoma City, OK Olympia, WA Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA Orlando-Kissimmee, FL Oshkosh-Neenah, WI Owensboro, KY Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL Palm Coast, FL Panama City-Lynn Haven, FL Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna, WV-OH Pascagoula, MS Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL Peoria, IL Philadelphia, PA (MSAD) Phoenix-Mesa-Scottdale, AZ Pine Bluff, AR Pittsburgh, PA Pittsfield, MA Pocatello, ID Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, ME Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA Port St. Lucie, FL Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY Prescott, AZ Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA Provo-Orem, UT Pueblo, CO Punta Gorda, FL Racine, WI Raleigh-Cary, NC Rapid City, SD Reading, PA Redding, CA Reno-Sparks, NV Richmond, VA Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Roanoke, VA Rochester, MN Rochester, NY Rockford, IL Rockingham County-Strafford County, NH (MSAD) Rocky Mount, NC Rome, GA Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, CA Saginaw-Saginaw Township North, MI St. Cloud, MN St. George, UT St. Joseph, MO-KS St. Louis, MO-IL Salem, OR Salinas, CA Salisbury, MD Salt Lake City, UT San Angelo, TX San Antonio, TX San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA Sandusky, OH San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA (MSAD) San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA (MSAD) Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, CA Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA Santa Fe, NM Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice, FL Savannah, GA Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, PA Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA (MSAD) Sheboygan, WI Sherman-Denison, TX Shreveport-Bossier City, LA Sioux City, IA-NE-SD Sioux Falls, SD South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI Spartanburg, SC Spokane, WA Springfield, IL Springfield, MA Springfield, MO Springfield, OH State College, PA Stockton, CA Sumter, SC Syracuse, NY Tacoma, WA (MSAD) Tallahassee, FL Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Terre Haute, IN Texarkana, TX-Texarkana, AR Toledo, OH Topeka, KS Trenton-Ewing, NJ Tucson, AZ Tulsa, OK Tuscaloosa, AL Tyler, TX Utica-Rome, NY Valdosta, GA Vallejo-Fairfield, CA Sebastian-Vero Beach, FL Victoria, TX Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, NJ Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Visalia-Porterville, CA Waco, TX Warner Robins, GA Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI (MSAD) Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV (MSAD) Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA Wausau, WI Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH Wenatchee, WA West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, FL (MSAD) Wheeling, WV-OH Wichita, KS Wichita Falls, TX Williamsport, PA Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ (MSAD) Wilmington, NC Winchester, VA-WV Winston-Salem, NC Worcester, MA Yakima, WA York-Hanover, PA Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA Yuba City, CA Yuma, AZ .



I want to put $ thousand million down and finance with a fixed-rate a variable-rate mortgage at %.



I am in the 10 15 25 28 33 35 percent tax bracket and plan to take the standard deduction itemize deductions on my taxes.



I plan to sell the house in 1 year 2 years 5 years 10 years 20 years 30 years . Costs of Ownership v. Renting:



House Appreciation (real) Purchase Price Monthly Rent Ownership Costs Sale Price Outstanding Mortgage Commission and fees Total Cash (Owning) Equivalent Rental Costs Returned Security Deposit Value Net Savings Total Cash (Renting) Net Cost of Owning

Designed by David Rosnick, Center for Economic and Policy Research.

Modified June 12, 2007 based on OFHEO Housing Price Index of 1Q 2007, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index (less shelter) and CBO current economic projections as of January 2007.

Access the technical notes, which were modified August 22, 2005.