Rent or buy in Metro Detroit, with real numbers
Pick a city and a bedroom count. We start you from what homes like that actually sold and rented for there in the last 12 months, then put the owner side through the same uncapped Michigan property tax every other calculator here uses.
Rent vs buy calculator
Your rent against owning a similar home: the first month, the total over the years you stay, the equity you would build, and the year buying pulls ahead.
More assumptions
Common questions
Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Metro Detroit?
It depends on the city and how long you stay. In many Wayne and Macomb County cities the monthly cost of owning a typical home is close to the typical rent, so buying pulls ahead within a few years. In higher-priced Oakland and Washtenaw cities it can take much longer. Pick your city above to see it with real numbers.
Where do the typical rent and sale price come from?
From Realcomp, the Southeast Michigan MLS: the median of leases and sales that actually closed in that city in the last 12 months, by bedroom count. A city needs at least six closings in a group before we show a typical number.
Why does the owner's cost include property tax at the uncapped rate?
Michigan resets a home's taxable value to about half the purchase price the year after you buy. The seller's tax bill on the listing is not what you will pay. This calculator uses the uncapped number from month one, which slightly overstates your first year and gets every year after it right.
What does break-even mean here?
The first year in which the total you have paid to own, minus what you would net from selling, plus what your down payment could have earned in savings, drops below the total rent you would have paid. Move before then and renting was cheaper; stay past it and buying was.
Every number you need, before you sign
Tax Uncapping
What your taxes actually become after closing.
Escrow Shock
Your year-two payment increase and shortage notice.
Seller Net Sheet
Net proceeds after transfer tax, commission and payoff.
Affordability
True monthly payment with uncapped Michigan taxes.
Property Tax
This year's bill from official 2025 millage for your exact district.
Transfer Tax
What the seller owes the state and county at closing.
Tax Appeal
Are you over-assessed, and would appealing actually save you anything?