Rent or buy in 2026? Three questions to start

Renting preserves optionality; buying builds equity and fixes a portion of your monthly cost. Neither is universally “right.”

Ask how long you plan to stay in one place, how comfortable you are maintaining a property, and what liquidity you want on hand for career or family changes.

We run both scenarios with conservative assumptions—taxes, insurance, maintenance, and opportunity cost of a down payment—so the choice is numerical, not emotional alone.