Rent vs Sell Calculator
Should I Rent or Sell My House?
Rent it out if the home covers its own costs and you can hold it three to five years; sell if the monthly shortfall is large or you need the equity now. The calculator below puts a dollar figure on both paths using your mortgage, your expected rent and your own assumptions.
You are not alone in asking. Zillow Research found that 2.3% of U.S. rental listings were homes that had been listed for sale and did not sell, the second-highest share in its six-year record, and the share is 3.4% for detached single-family homes. In Houston it is 4.2%, with the October 2026 update putting it at 4.3%, triple the rate of three years ago.
Your numbers
Assumptions (tap to adjust)
After 5 years
Renting it out leaves you about $25,395 ahead of selling now.
- Sell now
- Net proceeds today $112,000, grown at 5% for 5 years: $142,944
- Rent it out
- Equity at year 5 $202,646 plus cumulative cash flow −$34,308 = $168,338
- Year-1 cash flow before leasing costs: −$608/mo · one-time leasing cost $2,750 · renting pulls ahead in year 1
Estimates only, not financial or tax advice. Taxes are left out: the capital-gains exclusion (the 2-out-of-5-year rule), depreciation and rental income can each change the answer. Cash flow is summed, not reinvested. Ask a CPA to run your numbers before you decide.
How to read the result
The calculator compares two futures. If you sell now, you walk away with the sale price minus selling costs minus the mortgage balance, and that money earns a return elsewhere. If you rent, you keep the home: each year you collect rent, pay the mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance and management, and the loan balance falls while the home appreciates. At the end of your holding period the rent path is worth the equity you could sell for plus every dollar of cash flow along the way.
The mortgage rate decides most cases
A low-rate loan is an asset you cannot buy back. A 3% mortgage on a home renting near break-even often beats selling; a 7% loan with negative cash flow often does not.
A price cut is a real cost too
Zillow Research notes that owners in markets with more unsold homes are “resorting to renting instead of accepting a serious price cut.” Put the cut you would need in the home value field and compare.
Taxes can flip it
Selling within three years of moving out can preserve the capital-gains exclusion under the 2-out-of-5-year rule; renting longer may not. Depreciation helps while you rent. Ask a CPA before you decide.
Where homes are not selling: the accidental landlord data
Zillow counts a home as an “accidental landlord” listing when it was listed for sale for at least two weeks, came off the market unsold, and was listed for rent within three months. Four of the markets Flat Fee Landlord serves are in the national top eight.
| Market | Share of rental listings previously listed for sale | Local page |
|---|---|---|
| Houston | 4.2% (4.3% in the October 2026 update, triple three years ago) | Houston management |
| Austin | 4.1% | Austin management |
| San Antonio | 3.9% | San Antonio management |
| Dallas | 3.4% | Dallas management |
| United States | 2.3% (second-highest in Zillow’s six-year record) | Run your numbers |
Sources: Zillow Research, “Number of ‘Accidental Landlords’ Rises to Three-Year High” (data through October 2025); Rental Housing Journal, “Houston Leads Nation in Accidental Landlords” (October 12, 2026), citing Zillow, the Houston Association of Realtors and John Burns Research. In Houston, single-family lease supply rose about 80% in three years to roughly 16,660 listings in September 2026, average single-family rent was $2,054 and roughly flat year over year, and leasing a home can take up to 60 days, per that report.
In the DMV the numbers are lower and the reason is different: a PCS order, a federal job change or a move out of the area. The decision math is the same. See our guides for Northern Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC.
When selling is the better answer
- The home would lose several hundred dollars a month even with a fair rent, and you do not expect rent or value to catch up within your holding period.
- You need the equity for your next purchase and a bridge or HELOC is not realistic.
- You moved out more than two years ago, so the capital-gains exclusion window is closing.
- You would resent being a landlord, even with a manager handling the work.
When renting is the better answer
- Your mortgage rate is well below today’s rates, so the loan itself is worth keeping.
- The only way to sell quickly is a price cut larger than a year or two of carrying costs.
- You may move back, or you want to sell into a better market later.
- The home rents near break-even or better after taxes, insurance, maintenance and management, and you can hold it three years or more.
If you rent it: what happens after you sign
An owner who did not plan to be a landlord needs a system, not a to-do list. Here is the sequence once you sign up for Tenant Placement + Management, as described on our how-it-works page.
- 1
Step 1: see your exact price and sign
Choose placement, management, or both, review the fees for that service, and sign the agreement for the service you selected. Starting a quote does not guarantee a tenant or a rent-start date.
- 2
Step 2: plan readiness and access
Tell the team your move-out date and any showing restrictions. Agree on access, photography and listing timing before work begins.
- 3
Step 3: market the rental and coordinate showings
Placement includes professional photography, MLS listing, rental-site syndication and coordinated showings. Timing depends on property readiness, access, pricing and demand.
- 4
Step 4: screen applicants
The Perfect 10ant System™ is our 10-point tenant screening process: identity, income, employment, credit, rental history, previous landlord references, criminal background, sex offender registry, bankruptcy and foreclosure history. Screening supports a placement decision; it does not guarantee future rent payments or eliminate every risk.
- 5
Placement promise
With Tenant Placement + Management, no completed application within 21 days of the home being rent-ready and listed means the first two months of management fees are waived, subject to agreement conditions. This does not guarantee a signed lease or move-in date.
- 6
After move-in
Tenant assurance is a Preferred or Concierge Tenant Placement + Management bundle benefit: 9 or 12 months respectively. Qualifying replacements waive our placement fee; exclusions and third-party costs apply. Basic, Placement Only and Management Only are excluded. Your management fee stays flat when the rent goes up, because the work does not change just because the rent did.
Not sure what it would rent for?
Get a comps-based rent range for your address and put it straight into the calculator above.
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FAQ
Rent or sell: the questions owners ask
Rent it out when the home covers its own costs (or comes close) and you expect to hold it for at least three to five years; sell when the monthly shortfall is large, you need the equity now, or you would be a reluctant landlord. The calculator on this page compares the two paths in dollars over your holding period, using your mortgage, rent, costs and assumptions. Taxes are left out, so confirm the result with a CPA.
If renting wins
See exactly what it would cost to have it managed.
Build a quote in a few minutes. Flat monthly fee, one month’s rent at placement, every fee and term shown before you sign.
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Mo Hashem
Founder, Flat Fee Landlord