Zum Inhalt springen

Free tool

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 3+1 zum Kauf, 106 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

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

Worked out for 106 m²: repair fund, administration, insurance and property tax.

Over the years

Buy: after 10 years11,1 Mio. Kč

Rent: after 10 years10,1 Mio. Kč

The result

Buying comes out ahead from year 5. After 10 years you'd have 1.022.512 Kč more than if you rented.

A month in the first year

Buying
80.471 Kča month
Renting
41.958 Kča month
Buying
Mortgage: 72.297 Kč · Owner's costs: 2.986 Kč · Upkeep: 7.063 Kč · Tax relief: −1.875 Kč
Cash on day one
3.407.000 Kč
Mortgage: 13.560.000 Kč

What you'd have after 10 years

If you buy
11.086.080 Kč
If you rent
10.063.568 Kč
Break-even
Year 5
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
117.458.500 Kč13.357.761 Kč965.652 Kč503.496 Kč3.576.984 Kč4.014.258 Kč
217.982.255 Kč13.145.304 Kč969.264 Kč518.604 Kč4.297.483 Kč4.634.102 Kč
318.521.723 Kč12.922.108 Kč972.996 Kč534.156 Kč5.043.963 Kč5.266.704 Kč
419.077.374 Kč12.687.635 Kč976.824 Kč550.188 Kč5.817.418 Kč5.912.184 Kč
519.649.696 Kč12.441.311 Kč980.784 Kč566.688 Kč6.618.894 Kč6.570.715 Kč
620.239.186 Kč12.182.541 Kč984.852 Kč583.692 Kč7.449.469 Kč7.242.416 Kč
720.846.362 Kč11.910.695 Kč989.052 Kč601.200 Kč8.310.276 Kč7.927.434 Kč
821.471.753 Kč11.625.112 Kč993.372 Kč619.236 Kč9.202.488 Kč8.625.888 Kč
922.115.905 Kč11.325.097 Kč997.824 Kč637.812 Kč10.127.331 Kč9.337.898 Kč
1022.779.383 Kč11.009.922 Kč1.002.408 Kč656.952 Kč11.086.080 Kč10.063.568 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.

Erfahre, was eine Wohnung wert ist, bevor du anrufst.

Kostenlos für alle auf Wohnungssuche. Ohne Installation und ohne Konto loslegen.

Zur KartensucheBytky zu Chrome hinzufügen