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Rent or Buy on the North Shore: Calculator
Put in the home you are looking at and the rent you pay now. The calculator follows both paths month by month and shows which one leaves you with more after five, ten, fifteen or twenty-five years. If you rent, the down payment and any monthly savings are invested instead.
Month by month · verified 7 October 2026
An estimateChange the assumptions
Tax rate 3.28195 is the City of North Vancouver’s full 2026 rate (all three). Rent increase 2.3% is BC’s 2026 cap for a tenant who stays; strata and insurance rise at the same rate. Put 0 strata for a house. Investment return is after tax.
Want this checked against your actual purchase?
This calculator uses the assumptions you enter. The answer moves a lot with the rate you can actually get, your down payment, and how long you plan to stay. Send me your numbers and I will run them against real North Shore prices. No charge, no obligation.
Prefer to talk now? Call or text 778-903-7306.
How the comparison works
Both paths start with the same money
A fair comparison gives the renter and the buyer the same cash. The buyer spends it on the down payment, property transfer tax and closing costs. The renter keeps it invested. Each month, whoever has the lower housing cost invests the difference. At the end, the buyer’s wealth is the home’s value minus the mortgage still owing, plus anything they invested. The renter’s wealth is their investment account.
This is why the answer often flips with time. In the first years, most of a mortgage payment is interest, and the property transfer tax is gone on day one. Over a longer stay, the buyer pays down principal and the rent keeps rising.
What the owner pays that the renter does not
| Cost | How the calculator treats it |
|---|---|
| Mortgage | Semi-annual compounding |
| CMHC premium | Added to the mortgage below 20% down |
| Property transfer tax | BC rates, first-time exemption if ticked |
| Property tax | Your rate × the home’s value each year |
| Strata fee and insurance | Rise with the rent increase you set |
| Upkeep | Percent of the home’s value each year |
| Selling costs | Not included |
The BC rent cap protects you only while you stay
For 2026, the most a landlord can raise rent on an existing tenancy in BC is 2.3%, down from 3% in 2025, with three full months’ written notice. When you move, the new landlord sets the new rent. If you expect to move every few years, use a higher rent increase than the cap.
Taxes on the gain
If the home is your principal residence for every year you own it, the Canada Revenue Agency does not tax the gain when you sell. A renter’s investments are taxed unless they sit in a TFSA, FHSA or RRSP. That is why the investment return here should be what you keep after tax.
Questions people actually ask
Is it cheaper to rent or buy on the North Shore?
In the first few years, renting usually costs less, because the buyer pays property transfer tax up front and most early mortgage payments are interest. Over a longer stay, buying often catches up as the mortgage is paid down and rent rises. The calculator shows the year it catches up for your numbers.
Why does the renter get the down payment?
Because that money exists either way. If you do not buy, you can invest it. Leaving it out would make renting look worse than it is.
How much can my landlord raise the rent in 2026?
2.3% for an existing tenancy in BC, with three full months’ written notice. The cap does not apply to the rent on a new tenancy.
Does the calculator include the cost of selling?
No. If you plan to sell at the end of the period, subtract your legal fees and selling costs from the buying side.
Is the gain on my home taxed?
Not if it was your principal residence for every year you owned it. The gain on investments outside a TFSA, FHSA or RRSP is taxable, so enter an after-tax return.
The other calculators
Sources, named and dated
This calculator is an estimate for planning only and is not financial, tax or legal advice. It assumes the mortgage rate, rent increase, price growth and investment return stay the same every year, which they will not. It leaves out selling costs, moving costs and the Home Owner Grant. Figures are those published on the dates cited above and change without notice. Tom Jahed, REALTOR®, Personal Real Estate Corporation, Vanak Realty.