Rent or buy: when owning your home pays off
Last updated: 3 November 2026
Whether buying or renting is cheaper depends mostly on how long you stay. The costs of buying hit on day one, while value growth and repayments work over the years. The calculator puts both paths side by side.
Show yearly table
| Year | Rent / month | Buying / month | Home value | Remaining debt | Wealth if buying | Wealth if renting | Buying ahead by |
|---|
Example calculation. It compares wealth after selling at the end of your stay: home value after selling costs and without capital gains tax (main residence exemption), less remaining debt, against investing own funds and monthly savings after 27.5% capital gains tax. Not advice.
How the comparison works
Both paths start with the same own funds. If you buy, they go into the price and purchase costs, and you then pay the loan, the reserve fund and repairs. If you rent, the money stays invested and you pay rent. Whoever spends less each month invests the difference. At the end, buying counts the home's value after selling costs and remaining debt; renting counts the invested money after 27.5% capital gains tax.
The assumptions
Flats in Upper Austria became 4.9% more expensive per year on average from 2010 to 2025 (source: Statistics Austria, house price index; own calculation of the average change). The calculator uses 3% and also shows the result for one point more and less. Rent rises with inflation once a year; above 3%, only half counts (Rent Indexation Act, MieWeG). If you sell the home you live in, capital gains tax usually does not apply (main residence exemption).
Find homes in and around Wels in the search for flats and houses to buy or among the rentals.
More guides
- Renting a flat in Wels: the rental contract explained
- Rental deposit in Austria: where it is kept and how you get it back
- Operating costs (Betriebskosten): what your landlord may charge
- Registering your address in Wels (Meldezettel)
- Leaving your flat early: successor tenants and transfer fees
- Shared flats in Wels: main tenancy, subletting and your flatshare agreement
- Buying property in Wels: the additional costs
- Free templates: tenant self-disclosure, handover report, moving checklist
- Mortgage calculator: payment, interest and buying costs in Austria