2,026 · Last reviewed 2026-05-24
Rent vs Buy Crossover Index
One consistent calculation, every country: buy a typical home with 20% down on a 25-year loan at the local mortgage rate, or rent the same home and invest the down payment instead. The crossover is the first year owning works out cheaper than renting. In the United States that takes about two years; in South Korea, Russia, Pakistan and Bangladesh it never happens within forty — a single, currency-free read on where buying actually pays off.
Buying pays off fastest
United States
2
years until buying beats renting
Renting keeps winning
Never
in 4 of 41 markets buying never overtakes renting within 40 years
How the index is built
For every country we set a common home price, derive the comparable rent from the local price-to-rent ratio, then run both paths through the same engine behind our rent-vs-buy calculator. The buyer puts 20% down and finances the rest over 25 years at the prevailing mortgage rate; the renter invests the down payment instead. We hold one assumption set everywhere — 3% home appreciation, 3% rent growth, 2% of value a year in tax and upkeep, 6% selling costs and a 5% return on invested savings, over a 40-year horizon. The break-even year is the first year buying costs less than renting. Because every figure scales with the price, the year depends only on the price-to-rent ratio and the mortgage rate — not on currency. The exact years shift if you change the assumptions, but the country order is stable.
Full ranking
| Rank | Country | Price-to-rent | Mortgage rate | Break-even (years) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 9.2 | 6.23% | 2 |
| 2 | Ireland | 14.1 | 4.19% | 2 |
| 3 | United Arab Emirates | 17.4 | 4.66% | 3 |
| 4 | Portugal | 18.7 | 4.11% | 3 |
| 5 | Spain | 20.7 | 3.33% | 3 |
| 6 | Canada | 18.5 | 5.00% | 4 |
| 7 | Netherlands | 19.4 | 4.09% | 4 |
| 8 | Belgium | 21.0 | 3.66% | 4 |
| 9 | Italy | 21.7 | 3.71% | 4 |
| 10 | South Africa | 10.0 | 11.27% | 5 |
| 11 | Saudi Arabia | 17.8 | 5.39% | 5 |
| 12 | Denmark | 22.9 | 3.95% | 5 |
| 13 | United Kingdom | 20.4 | 5.41% | 7 |
| 14 | Singapore | 34.3 | 2.62% | 7 |
| 15 | Switzerland | 42.6 | 2.09% | 8 |
| 16 | Japan | 43.4 | 2.06% | 8 |
| 17 | Finland | 29.3 | 3.87% | 9 |
| 18 | France | 29.5 | 3.78% | 9 |
| 19 | Greece | 27.3 | 4.57% | 10 |
| 20 | Germany | 29.7 | 3.96% | 10 |
| 21 | Sweden | 30.0 | 3.89% | 10 |
| 22 | Norway | 26.4 | 4.86% | 11 |
| 23 | Austria | 33.3 | 3.57% | 11 |
| 24 | Australia | 22.9 | 5.90% | 12 |
| 25 | New Zealand | 23.6 | 6.36% | 15 |
| 26 | Czechia | 29.9 | 5.16% | 16 |
| 27 | Poland | 24.7 | 6.86% | 18 |
| 28 | Thailand | 29.6 | 5.73% | 19 |
| 29 | Mexico | 15.6 | 11.45% | 20 |
| 30 | Hong Kong | 44.1 | 3.77% | 20 |
| 31 | Indonesia | 20.3 | 9.28% | 21 |
| 32 | Brazil | 21.7 | 11.12% | 27 |
| 33 | China | 59.7 | 3.49% | 28 |
| 34 | Philippines | 38.4 | 7.12% | 32 |
| 35 | Egypt | 20.0 | 16.01% | 35 |
| 36 | India | 34.8 | 8.95% | 35 |
| 37 | Vietnam | 36.7 | 8.63% | 36 |
| 38 | Russia | 23.1 | 21.35% | Never |
| 39 | Pakistan | 26.5 | 14.79% | Never |
| 40 | Bangladesh | 34.3 | 10.75% | Never |
| 41 | South Korea | 92.2 | 4.17% | Never |
Markets with mortgage rates above 30% are excluded: in a hyperinflationary economy a 25-year fixed-rate loan is not a product that exists, so the model does not apply. Left out this year: Türkiye and Argentina.
Part of a series
This index shares its data family and method with our Global Mortgage Affordability Index, which ranks the same countries by how much of a median income a typical mortgage payment takes.
Related calculators →Notes & limitations
The price-to-rent ratios and mortgage rates are Numbeo’s crowdsourced 2026 figures and can be volatile for smaller or fast-moving markets. The index models one stylised household everywhere — 20% down, a 25-year fixed loan and a fixed set of cost and return assumptions — and ignores taxes on gains, transaction taxes, subsidies and local lending rules. It measures the relative timing of the rent-vs-buy trade-off, not your personal circumstances, and is not financial advice. For your own numbers, use the calculator below.
Sources
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