Should you keep renting in the GTA or buy? This compares the true net cost of each over your time horizon — including land transfer tax and CMHC insurance on the buy side, which most US rent-vs-buy tools leave out.
Buy net cost = down payment + all payments + property tax + 1%/yr maintenance + closing costs − sale proceeds (home value − mortgage balance − 5% selling cost). Rent net cost = total rent paid. Maintenance is estimated at 1% of home price per year; property tax is held flat. This is a simplified model, not a forecast.
Buying wins more often the longer you stay, because the one-time costs — land transfer tax, CMHC insurance, legal fees, and the ~5% cost of selling later — get spread over more years. Under about 5 years, renting plus investing the difference is very often ahead in the GTA. Past 7–10 years, buying usually pulls ahead if prices grow at all.
Two Ontario specifics swing the answer: Toronto buyers pay land transfer tax twice (provincial + municipal), and renters in units first occupied before Nov 15, 2018 are protected by Ontario's rent-increase guideline, while newer units are exempt and can jump much faster. Change the growth and rent-increase assumptions above and watch the verdict flip — that sensitivity is the real answer.
How much home you can afford on your salary — GDS/TDS limits, qualified at the stress-test rate like a lender does.
Open calculator →Your exact payment with Canadian semi-annual compounding, all frequencies, CMHC insurance and a full amortization schedule.
Open calculator →Your qualifying rate, the payment you're actually tested on, and a clear pass/fail under the federal B-20 rules.
Open calculator →Ontario + Toronto land transfer tax, first-time buyer rebates, minimum down payment and CMHC premium in one estimate.
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