I wanted to share with you an interesting little formula I came across on a real estate & investment website. It's NOT meant to be a definitive formula by any means. Just a quick way to calculate if the home or condo you are thinking of buying might be better to rent at the present moment. Real estate should always be purchased with a long term horizon and seldom does renting long term ever work out to be a better option than buying, holding and paying down the mortgage because you are creating equity and wealth in 2 ways. #1. Thru property appreciation and #2. By paying down the debt each month by way of your monthly, or even better bi-weekly mortgage payment. In my experience very few people will save or invest the difference they pay for rent vs. owning and paying off the mortgage. These days with sub 3% interest rates you can buy a 1 bedroom condo and build equity for less than what you would pay for rent. But if you're only looking short term (1 or 2 years and want a higher end 2-3 bedroom in say Coal Harbor, Yaletown or UBC then renting right now might be a better option. at least in the short term according to this little formula. Give it a try and have fun with it!