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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, 26 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

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

Worked out for 26 m²: repair fund, administration, insurance and property tax.

Over the years

Buy: after 10 years1,3 Mio. Kč

Rent: after 10 years880.932 Kč

The result

Buying comes out ahead from year 3. After 10 years you'd have 385.555 Kč more than if you rented.

A month in the first year

Buying
8.403 Kča month
Renting
6.259 Kča month
Buying
Mortgage: 7.678 Kč · Owner's costs: 858 Kč · Upkeep: 750 Kč · Tax relief: −883 Kč
Cash on day one
377.000 Kč
Mortgage: 1.440.000 Kč

What you'd have after 10 years

If you buy
1.266.487 Kč
If you rent
880.932 Kč
Break-even
Year 3
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
11.854.000 Kč1.418.519 Kč100.834 Kč75.108 Kč387.432 Kč426.038 Kč
21.909.620 Kč1.395.951 Kč101.585 Kč77.364 Kč471.801 Kč475.479 Kč
31.966.909 Kč1.372.244 Kč102.356 Kč79.680 Kč559.215 Kč525.292 Kč
42.025.916 Kč1.347.337 Kč103.148 Kč82.068 Kč649.788 Kč575.438 Kč
52.086.693 Kč1.321.171 Kč103.960 Kč84.540 Kč743.639 Kč625.863 Kč
62.149.294 Kč1.293.683 Kč104.807 Kč87.072 Kč840.890 Kč676.542 Kč
72.213.773 Kč1.264.807 Kč105.699 Kč89.688 Kč941.665 Kč727.443 Kč
82.280.186 Kč1.234.473 Kč106.602 Kč92.376 Kč1.046.096 Kč778.507 Kč
92.348.592 Kč1.202.604 Kč107.540 Kč95.148 Kč1.154.324 Kč829.683 Kč
102.419.049 Kč1.169.126 Kč108.525 Kč98.004 Kč1.266.487 Kč880.932 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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