Atlanta, Georgia · cash + margin above $1M
When does buying beat renting?
Set the home price and comparable monthly rent. The model finds the minimum holding period before buying, then selling, leaves you with more wealth.
Break-even holding period
2 years, 5 months
Renting leads before then; at break-even, buying has caught up after transaction and ownership costs.
Buyer advantage over time
Above $0: buying leads · Below $0: renting leads
At year 10, buying is ahead.
Assumptions and methodology
Both households begin with the same cash. The buyer contributes up to $1 million toward the home, pays closing costs in cash, and borrows any remaining purchase price with an interest-only margin loan. The renter invests the buyer’s cash outlay, earning 3% annually. Each month, whichever option has lower housing costs invests the difference. At every point on the chart, the buyer hypothetically sells the home, pays selling costs, and repays the margin principal.
Growth
- Home appreciation
- 3.7% / yr
- Rent growth
- 3.2% / yr
- Cash return
- 3.0% / yr
Buying and selling
- Buyer closing costs
- 2.0%
- Selling costs
- 6.0%
- Mortgage
- None
Annual ownership
- Property tax
- 1.0%
- Home insurance
- 0.4%
- Maintenance
- 1.0%
- Renters insurance
- $20 / mo
Margin loan above $1M
- Up to $50k
- 5.00%
- $50k–$100k
- 4.80%
- $100k–$1M
- 4.50%
- $1M–$10M
- 4.25%
- $10M–$50M
- 4.20%
- Over $50M
- 3.95%
- Structure
- Interest-only
Margin rates apply to the full borrowed balance, not progressively by tier, and remain fixed in the model. Not modeled: HOA fees, utilities shared by both choices, moving or renovation costs, tax deductions, income tax on savings interest, or capital-gains tax. Results are illustrative, not financial advice.
Growth rates use Atlanta’s 2000–2024 series in Area Comparison. Closing-cost range: CFPB. Georgia’s mortgage-note tax is excluded because no loan is secured by the property: Georgia DOR.