Story by
Kaylene Hong
Kaylene Hong was Asia Reporter for The Next Web between 2013 and 2014, based in Singapore. She is bilingual in English and Mandarin. Stay in Kaylene Hong was Asia Reporter for The Next Web between 2013 and 2014, based in Singapore. She is bilingual in English and Mandarin. Stay in touch via Twitter or Google+.
Trulia, an online marketplace to help you find your next home, has launched a Rent vs. Buy calculator on its website for house-hunters to figure out if purchasing a new place costs more or less than renting one.
Trulia’s move comes in conjunction with a Rent vs. Buy report it released today, which found out that despite higher mortgage rates, buying is still on average 35 percent cheaper than renting in all of the 100 largest US metros — though San Jose, San Francisco and Honolulu are close to tipping the other way.
To use the calculator: you need to key in actual prices or rental fees for the potential houses, the mortgage rate you qualify for, your tax bracket, how long you plan to live in the home, as well as other details including the costs of utilities, annual maintenance and insurance.
➤ Old School Calculators Don’t Tell You Whether It’s Cheaper To Rent Or Buy [Trulia Blog]
Headline image via Scott Olson/Getty Images
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