Buy vs Rent Calculator — Cardiff
How many years of renting cost the same as buying outright in your target city? Side-by-side total cost over a horizon you choose, with the city's median sale and rent pre-filled. Pre-filled with Cardiff medians from our latest snapshot (2026-05-09).
Inputs
€
€
yr
%
%
%
%
Results
Total rent paid
€174,297
Total ownership cost
€-18,510
Break-even year
2.0 yr
Future property value
€264,877
Buy advantage
€192,807
Over this horizon, buying saves about €192,807 versus renting — assuming the projected growth rates hold.
Break-even hits at year 2.0 — buy if you plan to stay longer than that, rent otherwise.
Data: Cardiff · 2026-05-09
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I rent or buy in Europe in 2026?
It depends on your horizon and the local price-to-rent ratio. In cities with high entry costs and modest rent growth (Paris, Lisbon), renting often wins for stays under 7 years. In faster-appreciating mid-sized cities (Berlin secondaries, Bilbao, Porto), buying can break even sooner.
What rent growth rate is realistic for the next 10 years?
Euro-area rents grew about 2-3% per year on average over 2015-2024, faster (4-6%) in Spain and Portugal post-2021. Use the country median as a baseline and stress-test ±1pp around it.