Buy or Rent Your Home: Which Option Makes More Sense?

Ajouté : 2026-05-30

[00:00:00]Today we are going to tackle one of the most debated decision for everyone. Does it make more financial sense to rent or to buy a property? But before we start, let me ask you a simple question.

[00:00:12]Imagine two people living in exactly the same property. One decides to buy, the other decides to rent. After 10 years, who ends up in a better financial position? I'm sure that most people would answer the person who bought the property cuz they are not wasting money on rent. But depending on a few key assumptions, that answer can be completely wrong. And that's exactly what we're going to explore in this video. We are going to break the problem down step by step using a realistic example. We will focus on the London property market, our primary area of operations. Clearly, this exercise can be performed in any location around the globe depending on the property market you're interested in. First, we look at the real cost of buying a property in London, including stem duty, legal fees, mortgage payments, seab charges, and maintenance. And then, we will compare it with renting exactly the same property. Second, we will introduce an often overlooked concept, opportunity cost. In other words, what happens if the money used for the deposit to buy your home is invested elsewhere. Next, we will examine three different scenarios that involve fluctuating property prices. By doing so, you will clearly understand how changes in property values over time impact the results. By the end of this video, you will have a clear framework to think about this decision in a much more structured way.

[00:01:43]I am Marco Fazanella. I'm a member of the Royal Institution of Charter Surveyor and I work in real estate as an adviser and asset manager with over 15 years of experience across the UK and Italian markets. I am co-founder of Habitat Investments, our development company and Habitat Living, our operations and property management brand. And on this channel, we focus on explaining how real estate works in practice, covering investment, development, and operations. always in a clear and practical way. Now, one important clarification before we begin.

[00:02:17]As said before, in this example, I'm focusing specifically on the London property market. But if you run exactly the same exercise in a different city or a different country, the results could be completely different. Property prices, rental prices and rental yields, taxes and investment returns vary significantly from market to market, from city to city and also from different areas or type of property in the same city. So the objective here is not to give you a universal answer but to provide a framework you can use to analyze the decision in any market you're interested in. All right, now that the disclaimers are out of the way, please always be kind in the comments below this video. Let's start looking at the numbers. Let's assume we are looking at at a two-bedroom flat in central London worth £800,000.

[00:03:07]That same property could reasonably be rented for around £3,000 per month, which is £36,000 per year. We will use a 10-year time horizon. That's long enough for compounding to matter, but still realistic in terms of how long many people hold the property. Let's start with the buying scenario. If you purchase the property with a 20% deposit, you are committing 160,000 upfront. Once we add roughly £40,000 in stem duty and acquisition cost, your total initial capital outlay becomes about £200,000.

[00:03:43]The remaining £640,000 is financed through a 25-year mortgage at an assumed interest rate of, let's say, 5%. Interest rates can obviously be lower or higher depending on market conditions, but for this example, 5% is currently in 2026 in London, a reasonable working assumption. Under those conditions, annual mortgage payments are approximately £45,000 per year or about £3,750 per month including both interest and principal repayment. However, the mortgage isn't the only cost. On top of that, we have 500 per month service charge, so 6,000 per year. We also estimate around £3,000 per year on maintenance. So the total annual ownership cost comes to approximately £54,000 per year. Now let's compare that to renting at £36,000 per year, which is, as we said before, £3,000 per month.

[00:04:40]And this gives us the first very concrete result of analysis. Buying requires higher ongoing monthly cash outflows. In this example, ownership cost about £18,000 more per year than renting. Roughly 1,500 more every single month. And obviously, this extra 1,500 per month has to come from somewhere. It has to come from your salary, your bonuses, or from reducing spending in other areas of your life. If your income is very high relative to these housing costs, that difference may feel manageable. But if your salary is not significantly higher than your fixed monthly obligations, the pressure becomes real. Higher monthly expenses reduce financial flexibility. They reduce your ability to save. They reduce your ability to invest elsewhere and in some cases they increase vulnerability if unexpected expenses arise. So the very first insight here is about affordability and liquidity. Owning a property may build equity over time, but in the meantime, at least in this example and with these assumptions, it requires stronger and more stable cash flow. Now, let's go back to our two-bedroom flat in London. If you decide to rent, the £200,000, which was your total initial capital outlay, remains available since it is not spent as a deposit or same duty to buy the property. Furthermore, if you rent instead of buying, you also avoid spending the additional £18,000 per year. As we have seen before, these two elements form the basis of opportunity cost. So, what is opportunity cost?

[00:06:17]Opportunity cost is the value of the next best alternative use of your money.

[00:06:23]Let's explain this in a very simple way.

[00:06:25]If £200,000 could earn 6% per year elsewhere, for example, in the stock market, using it as a deposit means giving up that potential return.

[00:06:37]Opportunity cost doesn't show up as a bill. But financially, it is very, very real. And in our case, opportunity cost applies to the deposit and equity locked into the property and the additional annual housing cost you will have when buying the property. Let's now go a step further and look at the renting and investing scenario, which means I decide not to buy the property and with the money saved, investing elsewhere. Let's assume £200,000 invested up front. This is the money I'm saving by not paying the deposit. Same duty to buy the property as we discussed before. £18,000 invested annually. Again, this is the money I'm saving every year by not buying the property. 6% annual return.

[00:07:19]After 10 years, £200,000 grows to approximately £358,000 and annual contribution will grow to approximately £237,000.

[00:07:31]So the total money available after 10 years according to these assumptions would be £595,000.

[00:07:39]Now let's compare this result to ownership under different scenarios. We will evaluate three property appreciation scenarios over a 10 years period. And we will assume that the property you have bought will have a 3% annual growth, a 0% annual growth. So the price in 10 years will be exactly the same and a 5% annual growth. As you will see, small differences in assumptions can materially change the result. Let's start with the 3% property growth scenario. The property value in 10 years will be £1,75,000.

[00:08:15]The remaining mortgage will be £490,000 and the total equity will be £585,000.

[00:08:23]This result is very close to renting where the total equity at the end of the 10 years period was £995,000.

[00:08:31]Now let's look at the 0% property growth scenario. Property value remains £800,000 after 10 years. remaining mortgage stays at £490,000 and the total equity in 10 years will be £310,000.

[00:08:47]In this case, as we can see, renting and investing clearly outperforms buying the property. And now let's look at the 5% optimistic property growth scenario. The property value in 10 years would be £1,300,000.

[00:09:02]The total equity would be £810,000.

[00:09:06]And as you can see, buying in this case clearly outperforms renting and investing using a very optimistic 5% annual growth in property price per year. Now, we could build a much more complex model including taxation. For example, if I own a limited company and I work from home, I could deduct part of my rent from my company's revenue. We have also not considered refinancing, inflation, mortgage lump sums payment, change in interest rates and rental prices over years and so on. However, the objective here is to highlight the variables that really move the outcome and the financial results. So, which are the most important variable to take into consideration when making the decision whether to buy or renting a property?

[00:09:50]First one, property appreciation. In this example, we have also assumed a three or 5% annual growth. However, property prices can also decline.

[00:10:00]Someone who bought a two-bedroom property in central London in 2016 has in many cases seen values decrease by around 15 to 20% over the past decade.

[00:10:11]So, it is very important to bear in mind that prices do not always rise. Second one, mortgage interest rates. We have seen how dramatically these can change.

[00:10:21]Even small differences materially affect total financing cost and monthly affordability. Third one, deposit size.

[00:10:29]Not everyone has £200,000 available. And if that represents your entire savings, committing all of it as a deposit can increase financial risk because it removes your liquidity buffer. Fourth one, alternative investment returns.

[00:10:46]Again here in this case we have assumed a 6% annual return but returns depend entirely on asset allocation risk tolerance and market conditions. A lower return reduces the attractiveness of renting and investing. Lastly but not less important time horizon. We have assumed 10 years, but many buyers move sooner and because transaction costs are very high, short holding periods often make buying financially inefficient. So, let's go back to the initial question.

[00:11:18]Should you buy or rent a property in London? I'm afraid there is no right or wrong answer. As we have seen, the financially optimal decision depends entirely on assumptions and on your personal circumstances. But this analysis highlights something very important. In this case, the £800,000 property in London with a £200,000 deposit and 5% interest rates, buying can require higher monthly commitments.

[00:11:46]It can reduce flexibility and it concentrates capital. For some people, that trade-off is entirely reasonable.

[00:11:53]For others, especially if income is tight relative to housing cost, flexibility and liquidity may be much more valuable than ownership. But let's go beyond the numbers. Let's talk about something that is just as important.

[00:12:07]Psychology. Why do people actually choose to buy a home? Well, it's about more than spreadsheets and interest rates. Owning your place means stability, a sense of control, a sense of security. You are not at the mercy of a landlord who might decide to sell or face the anxiety of having to find something else to live at short notice.

[00:12:27]For lots of people, the comfort of knowing you can decorate, refurbish, or remain in your home as long as you want makes owning a house invaluable. On the other hand, renting offers its own kind of freedom. If you love flexibility, if you want to move for work, travel, or just fancy a change, renting lets you do that with far fewer strings attached.

[00:12:50]For some people, that flexibility is what brings true peace of mind. So, when you are comparing your options, remember, it's not just about the financial side. Recognizing both the numbers and how you feel about stability and flexibility will help you make a decision that's genuinely right for you.

[00:13:10]And finally, one last note. This video is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.

[00:13:17]Every situation is different and professional advice tailored to your circumstances is always recommended before making major financial decisions.

[00:13:27]Thank you for watching. I really hope you found this helpful and I look forward to seeing you in the next video.

[00:13:33]Ciao.