All Calculators

Buy vs Rent Calculator – Should You Buy or Keep Renting?

Trying to decide whether to keep renting or take the step into home ownership?
Our Buy vs Rent Calculator helps you compare the long-term cost of renting versus buying based on your own numbers — not generic assumptions.

Whether you’re in Berry, Wollongong, Kiama, Shellharbour or the wider Illawarra and South Coast, this tool gives you a clearer picture of what might work best for you.

How to Use the Buy vs Rent Calculator

Using the calculator is simple:

  1. Enter your current rent and how much it’s likely to increase over time.

  2. Enter a potential purchase price for the type of property you’re considering.

  3. Add details like deposit, interest rate, loan term and buying costs (such as stamp duty).

  4. The calculator compares the estimated total cost of renting vs buying over a chosen period.

The result won’t make the decision for you, but it will give you a clearer financial comparison so you can make a more informed choice.

Tip: Have a rough idea of the property price range you’re looking at before you start.

What Your Buy vs Rent Result Really Means

The calculator may show that:

  • Buying looks better in the long run – often because you’re building equity and paying off your own asset instead of rent.

  • Renting may be cheaper for now – especially if you’re early in your career, your income is still growing, or you don’t yet have a strong deposit.

Your result is a financial snapshot, not a verdict. It doesn’t fully capture non-financial factors such as:

  • Lifestyle flexibility

  • Job changes

  • Family plans

  • Desire to renovate or customise a home

That’s where speaking to a broker can help tie the numbers to your real life.

Buy vs Rent in the Illawarra and South Coast

The decision to buy or rent is different in every region. Around Berry, Wollongong, Kiama and Shellharbour, you’ll want to think about:

  • Property prices – some suburbs move faster than others.

  • Rental demand and vacancy rates – areas with strong rental demand may favour investors.

  • Time horizon – if you expect to stay in the area for a while, buying can often make more sense.

  • Your borrowing capacity – what lenders are actually willing to approve for you.

We work with local clients every day who are weighing up these exact trade-offs. The calculator is a great starting point — then we layer in lending policy, your goals and current market conditions.

What the Calculator Doesn’t Show (But We Can)

The Buy vs Rent Calculator is a powerful tool, but there are a few things it can’t fully capture on its own:

  • How different loan structures (fixed, variable, split, offset accounts) change your long-term position

  • The impact of rate rises or cuts beyond your assumptions

  • Bank policies that affect how much you can borrow and on what terms

  • Whether your deposit size is “enough” for the kind of property and area you’re targeting

  • How buying now vs waiting affects your ability to upgrade or invest later

This is where a personalised borrowing and strategy session makes a big difference.

Ready to Go Beyond the Calculator?

A tool is a great start — but it’s not a plan.

If you’d like to know:

  • Whether buying is realistic for you right now

  • How much you could potentially borrow

  • What your repayments might look like

  • Whether you should keep renting a little longer

…we’re here to help.

Contact Shorebreak Finance today for a personalised Buy vs Rent assessment tailored to your goals in the Illawarra and South Coast.