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Should you rent or buy?

Put the same home side by side: bought with a mortgage, or rented while the money you'd have put down is invested. See which leaves you better off, and from which year.

From Wohnung 1+1 zum Kauf, 37 m²: its asking price, floor area and Bytky's rent estimate. Open the listing

Start from an area

Pick a town, district or neighbourhood and a layout. The price and the rent become the area's medians today.

The home

Without the charges for services (heating, water, the lift).

If you buy

650.000 Kč of your own money. Under 36, banks may lend up to 90 %.

Worked out for 37 m²: repair fund, administration, insurance and property tax.

Over the years

Buy: after 10 years2,3 Mio. Kč

Rent: after 10 years1,4 Mio. Kč

The result

Buying comes out ahead from year 2. After 10 years you'd have 872.666 Kč more than if you rented.

A month in the first year

Buying
14.772 Kča month
Renting
11.840 Kča month
Buying
Mortgage: 13.862 Kč · Owner's costs: 1.151 Kč · Upkeep: 1.354 Kč · Tax relief: −1.595 Kč
Cash on day one
667.000 Kč
Mortgage: 2.600.000 Kč

What you'd have after 10 years

If you buy
2.299.358 Kč
If you rent
1.426.692 Kč
Break-even
Year 2
Find homes on the map

What you'd have at each year's end

Year by year

Year by year
YearHome valueStill owedPaid to ownPaid in rentBuying: you'd haveRenting: you'd have
13.347.500 Kč2.561.225 Kč177.269 Kč142.080 Kč700.458 Kč744.466 Kč
23.447.925 Kč2.520.493 Kč178.462 Kč146.340 Kč853.781 Kč821.889 Kč
33.551.363 Kč2.477.702 Kč179.707 Kč150.732 Kč1.012.673 Kč899.179 Kč
43.657.904 Kč2.432.748 Kč180.991 Kč155.256 Kč1.177.341 Kč976.228 Kč
53.767.641 Kč2.385.522 Kč182.304 Kč159.912 Kč1.348.002 Kč1.052.915 Kč
63.880.670 Kč2.335.909 Kč183.682 Kč164.712 Kč1.524.879 Kč1.129.135 Kč
73.997.090 Kč2.283.789 Kč185.102 Kč169.656 Kč1.708.207 Kč1.204.759 Kč
84.117.003 Kč2.229.036 Kč186.565 Kč174.744 Kč1.898.228 Kč1.279.649 Kč
94.240.513 Kč2.171.517 Kč188.096 Kč179.988 Kč2.095.190 Kč1.353.676 Kč
104.367.728 Kč2.111.090 Kč189.684 Kč185.388 Kč2.299.358 Kč1.426.692 Kč

Thinking of letting it instead? Work out its cash flow

Reader poll

Do you own the home you live in?

Anonymous, one answer per browser. We use the answers to learn who reads Bytky.

How the comparison works

The same home, bought or rented, month by month for the years you stay. Money is never left idle: whoever pays less in a month invests the difference, and both earn the same return.

What it counts

  • Buying: the down payment and the purchase costs on the first day, then each month the mortgage, the owner's costs and upkeep. The home's value grows each year.
  • Renting: the rent, rising once a year. The charges for services are left out, because owners pay them too.
  • The renter invests what the buyer put down on day one. After that, each month, whichever side pays less invests the difference.
  • At each year's end the buyer sells: the home's value, less the mortgage still owed and the selling costs, plus their investments. The renter has their investments.
  • Mortgage interest on your own home lowers your income tax base, up to a yearly cap; the saving comes back once a year with the tax return.

What it leaves out

  • Inflation: everything is in today's crowns as they'll be paid, not adjusted to today's value.
  • Rate changes: the rate stays the same for the whole term, though real mortgages are re-fixed every few years.
  • Moving and furnishing, which both sides pay.
  • Tax on investment gains: shares and funds held for over three years are free of income tax in Czechia.
  • Risk: a home's value and investments can fall as well as rise, and neither is certain.

Every starting figure and its source

Verified figures come from the law or the ČNB, checked on the date shown. Assumptions are typical values: change them to yours.

Questions

Questions about renting or buying

Is it better to rent or buy in Czechia?

It depends on three things: how many years of rent the home costs, how long you'll stay, and what your money would earn elsewhere. Where homes cost many years of rent, renting and investing the difference can leave you ahead for a long time; where rents are high against prices, buying catches up sooner. Put in your own figures, or start from an area to use its live medians.

How long do I need to stay for buying to pay off?

The calculator shows the break-even year: the first year's end from which selling would leave you better off than having rented. Buying costs about 17.000 Kč in fees up front and selling about 3 % of the price at the end, so short stays favour renting.

What does an owner pay that a tenant doesn't?

The building's repair fund, its administration, insurance of the home, the yearly property tax and repairs inside the home. Tenants and owners both pay the charges for services such as heating and water, so the calculator leaves those out.

Can I deduct mortgage interest from my taxes?

Yes, for your own home. The interest lowers your income tax base by up to 150.000 Kč a year for loans from 2021, or 300.000 Kč for older ones, which saves 15 % of the interest you deduct. The calculator assumes you pay at least that much income tax in Czechia; switch the relief off if you don't.

How much do I need to put down?

At least 20 % of the price. The ČNB caps a mortgage at 80 % of the home's value, or 90 % for applicants under 36. On top come the purchase costs: the cadastre fee and a lawyer for the contract and escrow.

Is this financial advice?

No. It's a model with the assumptions shown on this page. A mortgage adviser can tell you what a bank would actually lend you and at what rate.

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