Owning

Stay vs Sell Break-Even.

Selling costs run 7–9% of sale price. The break-even calculator shows when net proceeds from staying overtake selling today — and when they don't.

Live tool Net proceedsHold-period mathBreak-even year
Independent housing-cost intelligence. Math runs in your browser. We don't capture inputs, sell data, or send you to a lender. More on what OwningCost is.

Your home now

Estimated current value
$
Loan balance
$
Original purchase price
$
Years owned so far
yr

If you stay

Annual appreciation
%
Total monthly housingPITI + HOA + maint
$
Of which, P&I
$

If you sell

Selling cost% of sale price
%

Sell today vs stay and sell later

Break-even
Selling today nets about $168,250
Staying is worthwhile if you'd hold an additional 4+ years — that's when net proceeds catch up after appreciation and equity build.
Sell today
  • Sale price $525,000
  • − Selling costs −$36,750
  • − Loan payoff −$320,000
  • = Net proceeds $168,250
Stay 5 more years
  • Future sale price $608,500
  • − Selling costs −$42,595
  • − Future loan balance $291,400
  • = Net proceeds $274,505
  • − Cumulative non-PI payments $69,000
  • ≈ Net advantage to staying $37,255
How this is calculated

Sell today net = current value − (current value × selling cost %) − loan balance.

Stay scenario projects forward 5 years using your appreciation rate. The future loan balance comes from amortization at your inputs. Non-PI portion of housing cost (taxes, insurance, HOA, maintenance) is treated as a holding cost; P&I builds equity, so it's not a sunk cost.

Break-even year is the year at which staying nets more than selling now, after subtracting non-PI holding costs.

This calculator does not model rental income (if you'd rent it out vs sell), investment returns on the freed-up equity, or the cost of buying a new home.

Read the full methodology →

Stay vs Sell

Selling within three years almost always loses money. Here's why.

Most homeowners underestimate the cost of selling. Selling costs run 7–9% of sale price between agent commissions (5–6%), title and escrow (~1%), and concessions/repairs (~1%). On a $525K sale, that's $36,000–$47,000 — a real number that has to be earned back through appreciation and equity build before the sale "pays off."

The math, simplified

Net proceeds today = current value − selling costs − loan payoff. That's the cash that lands in your account at closing.

Net proceeds five years from now = future value (after appreciation) − future selling costs − reduced loan balance (after 5 more years of principal pay-down). The non-P&I portion of your monthly cost (taxes, insurance, HOA, maintenance) accrues over those years as holding cost — money you'd spend whether or not you stayed in this home, but money you could have avoided by renting somewhere cheaper.

What pushes "stay" to win

  • Strong appreciation. A 5% annual market beats a 2% market by a wide margin over five years. Local context matters here — Frisco's recent appreciation is very different from Akron's.
  • Long original loan. The longer you've owned, the more of each payment is principal vs interest, accelerating equity build.
  • Low non-P&I share. If your taxes, insurance, and HOA total 30% of your monthly payment, holding is cheap. If they total 55% (Texas suburbs with HOA), holding is expensive.
  • You'd buy a similar home anyway. If selling means buying a different home of similar cost, you've paid 7% to move sideways. Make sure the new home solves something the old one couldn't.

What pushes "sell" to win

  • Stagnant or declining market. If you don't expect appreciation, holding doesn't recover the selling cost.
  • High holding costs. Texas, NJ, IL property taxes and HOA-heavy properties make every year of holding expensive in non-equity-building dollars.
  • Significant life change. Job relocation, divorce, family restructuring, school zone needs. The math may say stay; life often overrides.
  • You'd downsize meaningfully. If selling and buying smaller frees up substantial cash for retirement or investment, the math improves.
A practical rule: if you've owned for fewer than 3 years and you don't have a major life-driven reason to sell, the math almost always favors staying. After year 5, the answer becomes much more case-dependent — run it.
FAQ

Common questions about stay vs sell break-even.

What's a realistic selling cost?
7% is a good default. 5–6% goes to agent commissions (split between listing and buyer's agents). 1% covers title, escrow, and recording. 1–2% covers concessions and minor repairs. In hot markets with bidding wars and skipped repairs, you can sometimes net closer to 6%. In slower markets with significant concessions, 8–9% is realistic.
Should I include the cost of buying a new home?
This calculator doesn't, because it's modeling the standalone sell-vs-stay decision. If you'd buy elsewhere, add buyer-side closing costs (~2.5% of new purchase price) to the stay scenario as a cost avoided. The Rent vs Buy calculator handles a fuller version of this comparison.
What about renting it out instead of selling?
A different decision. Run the cap rate: annual rent (less expenses) divided by current value. A property with 5%+ cap rate and reliable tenant demand often justifies keeping. Sub-3% cap rates (common in expensive coastal markets) typically don't justify the management overhead.
How does mortgage interest deduction affect this?
Marginally. Most homeowners take the standard deduction post-2017 tax law changes, which makes the mortgage interest deduction irrelevant for them. High-income owners with large mortgages in high-tax states still benefit, but not by enough to change the staying decision in most cases.
What if my home value has appreciated a lot since purchase?
Capital gains exclusion applies — $250K single, $500K married filing jointly, on a primary residence held 2 of the last 5 years. Most owners aren't taxed on the sale. The calculator doesn't model capital gains explicitly because the exclusion handles the typical case.
Should I just refinance instead of selling?
Different question. Refinancing keeps the home and lowers the monthly cost; selling exits the home and frees the equity. If staying is the right call but the monthly is uncomfortable, refinancing (when rates allow) is the answer. If exiting the home is the right call, refinancing doesn't help.
Keep going

Related calculators.

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Rent vs Buy

If you'd rent after selling, the broader sell-vs-rent comparison sits here.

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Selling costs explained

The 7–9% reality of selling — what each line item covers and where to negotiate.

Open Guide

Refinance vs keep current

If exiting isn't the answer, refinancing might be. When the math actually works.

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After the decision

If you're staying, stress-test the payment.

Insurance and tax creep are quiet. The Payment Shock test surfaces what your payment could become over the next few years if costs continue to rise.

Run Payment Shock Run Refinance vs Keep guide