Real Estate

Find the Right Real Estate Calculator

Whether you're buying your first home, analyzing a rental property investment, or deciding whether to refinance, this page points you to the tool that answers your specific question. Real estate decisions involve a lot of interconnected numbers — the sections below group tools by the stage or type of transaction you're working through.

Buying a Home

If you're starting to think about buying and want to know what you can realistically afford, begin with the Home Affordability Calculator. It works backward from your income, debts, and down payment to estimate the maximum loan a lender will approve and the price range to shop in. Once you have a specific property in mind, the Mortgage Calculator breaks down your monthly payment into principal, interest, taxes, and insurance — and shows you a full amortization schedule so you can see how the balance decreases over time.

Closing costs are often underestimated by first-time buyers. The Closing Costs Calculator estimates the full range of upfront fees — lender fees, title insurance, escrow, prepaid taxes and insurance — so you can budget accurately. If you're putting less than 20% down, you'll likely owe PMI (private mortgage insurance), and the PMI Removal Calculator shows when you'll reach 20% equity so you can request removal. The Rent vs Buy Calculator compares total 5-, 10-, and 20-year costs of renting versus buying at your price point, factoring in opportunity cost on the down payment, appreciation assumptions, and tax benefits. See all tools and guides in the Mortgage & Home Financing hub.

Refinancing

If rates have dropped since you got your mortgage, or you want to pull equity out for a renovation, the Refinance Calculator computes your new monthly payment, interest savings over the remaining loan term, and break-even period — the number of months until your closing cost savings offset what you paid to refinance. For homeowners considering whether to buy down their rate at closing, the Mortgage Points Calculator shows how many months it takes for the lower rate to recoup the upfront cost of each point.

If you have significant equity and want to tap it without refinancing your primary mortgage, the HELOC Calculator estimates monthly payments during the draw period at variable rates. The Home Equity Calculator shows your current equity based on estimated home value and remaining loan balance — useful for knowing how much is available before exploring options. See all home buying and selling tools in the Home Buying & Selling hub.

Rental and Investment Property

Before buying a rental property, you need to know whether the numbers work. The Rental Yield Calculator computes gross and net yield as a percentage of purchase price — a quick filter to see if a property is worth deeper analysis. The Cap Rate Calculator divides net operating income by property value to get the capitalization rate, a standard metric for comparing investment properties independent of financing. For properties with a mortgage, the Cash-on-Cash Return Calculator measures annual pre-tax cash flow against total cash invested.

If you're considering short-term rentals on platforms like Airbnb, the Airbnb Income Calculator estimates monthly revenue based on occupancy rate, nightly rate, and platform fees. For investors using the BRRRR strategy (Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat), the BRRRR Calculator models after-repair value, refinance proceeds, and equity left in the deal. The DSCR Calculator computes debt service coverage ratio — a number lenders use to qualify investment property loans (most require DSCR above 1.25). For flipping properties, the House Flipping Calculator estimates profit after purchase, renovation, carrying costs, and selling costs. See all tools and guides in the Rental & Investment Property hub.

Selling a Home

When you're ready to sell, the Real Estate Commission Calculator breaks down agent fees by side (listing vs. buyer's agent) at your sale price — with recent NAR rule changes, buyer's agent commission is no longer automatically included in all transactions, so this matters more than before. The Cost Per Square Foot Calculator helps you evaluate whether a listing price is in line with comps in your area. For investors doing a 1031 exchange to defer capital gains on a sold property, the 1031 Exchange Calculator estimates the tax deferred and reinvestment requirements. UK buyers and sellers can estimate stamp duty on purchases with the Australia Stamp Duty Calculator and Canadian buyers can use the Canada Land Transfer Tax Calculator.

For investors analyzing deals across multiple markets, the Average Home Price by Metro reference gives current median values to benchmark individual listings against. Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) have become popular in high-cost markets as both rental income sources and multigenerational housing solutions — the ADU Cost Calculator estimates construction cost and projected rental income for common ADU types. Commercial tenants and landlords can evaluate lease terms with the Commercial Lease Calculator, which converts between NNN, gross, and modified gross lease structures and computes total occupancy cost over a lease term. Real estate syndication investors can model returns from a passive real estate investment with the Real Estate Syndication ROI Calculator, including preferred return, waterfall splits, and projected IRR. Short-term rental income from properties in tourist-heavy markets is subject to its own tax treatment — the Short-Term Rental Tax Calculator estimates federal and state tax on Airbnb and VRBO income while accounting for deductible expenses like cleaning fees, supplies, and depreciation.

For international real estate scenarios — cross-border property tax, foreign capital gains, and overseas stamp duty — see the International & Tax hub.