Buy Now vs Wait Calculator
Waiting is a bet on two moving numbers at once — price and rate. This models both against the rent you keep paying and the extra down payment you would save.
Your Situation
What you have available for a down payment right now.
How much you can save per month while waiting.
How much your rent typically increases per year.
Home & Mortgage
The mortgage rate you expect if you wait.
Estimated at closing. Deducted from savings before down payment.
How Long Would You Wait?
How much home prices rise per year while you wait.
Based on these assumptions
Buying now looks like the stronger move.
Locking in today's price and starting to build equity outweighs the $12,720 net cash cost of waiting 2 years.
Buy Now
Looks better$2,395/mo
Lock in 7% today on a $400,000 home. Start building equity immediately — you'd have $80,218 in 2 years.
Wait 2 years
$2,143/mo
After 2 years the home could cost $432,640. You'd have $75,184 to put down — but you'd pay $48,720 in rent while waiting.
Monthly Payment Δ
−$252
less if you wait
Home Price Increase
$32,640
+4%/yr × 2 years
Extra Savings Built
$36,000
$1,500/mo × 24 mo
Rent Paid Waiting
$48,720
2 years of rent
Full Comparison at Decision Point
Net Cash Cost of Waiting 2 years
Rent cost more than you saved. Plus, the buy-now buyer already built $80,218 in equity.
No one can predict future home prices or mortgage rates. This calculator uses your assumptions to illustrate possible outcomes — actual results will differ. Market conditions, local factors, and personal finances all matter. Talk with a loan officer and financial advisor before making a decision.
The short answer
Should I buy a house now or wait for rates to drop?
Waiting only wins if prices and rates move enough to offset the rent you pay meanwhile. A lower rate later on a higher price can leave you worse off, and you can refinance a rate but you cannot renegotiate a purchase price. This calculator prices both paths side by side.
Run your numbers with us
A calculator gives you an estimate. A conversation gives you the number you can actually plan around — David and Bri will walk you through it down to the decimal.