Had you bought a typical home in Austin in January 2015 with a 10% down payment, by August 2026 you'd be $81,000 better off having bought.
| Bought in | Difference | Bought | Rented |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2015 | +$81,000 | $249,000 | $168,000 |
| Jan 2018 | +$15,000 | $190,000 | $176,000 |
| Jan 2021 | −$20,000 | $123,000 | $143,000 |
| Jan 2024 | −$146,000 | $3,000 | $149,000 |
Buying came out ahead from 2015 and 2018; renting came out ahead from 2021 and 2024. Bought is the home's value now, less the mortgage still owed, plus the buyer's savings. Rented is the renter's savings. Tap a year to open it in the calculator.
A typical home in Austin cost $417,977 in August 2026, up 64% since January 2015. Rent averaged $1,622 a month, up 38%.
With a 10% down payment, a 30-year mortgage on that home at Freddie Mac's average 30-year fixed rate (6.67%) comes to about $2,420 a month, $798 more than the average rent, before property tax, insurance, mortgage insurance, upkeep and closing costs.
Monthly costs don't settle it. Each result above comes down to what the home gained in value against what the renter's savings earned, and that changes with the year you start.
Each figure is the rent vs buy calculator with its usual settings for Austin: the average home price and rent for the month you'd have bought, a 10% down payment, a 30-year fixed mortgage at Freddie Mac's average rate, 3% closing costs, property tax at the metro's Census rate, insurance, mortgage insurance until the loan falls to 78% of the price, and upkeep at 1% of the value a year, and savings growing at 5% a year. Both paths start with the same money and spend the same each month: whichever costs less each month invests the difference. The figures are for the Austin, TX metro area.
Figures to August 2026.
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Every other place, over 600 of them, is in the rent vs buy calculator. See how they all compare since 2015.
For illustration, not financial advice. It shows what happened to real prices and rates in the past, not what happens next.