Coquitlam Rent vs Buy Calculator
Should you buy in Coquitlam — or keep renting? The honest break-even math.
This calculator compares your 10-year wealth outcome under two scenarios: (a) buy now in Coquitlam, or (b) keep renting and invest the down payment. Every assumption is named. Opportunity cost is included. The winner is whichever scenario leaves you with more net worth at the end of your time horizon.
5.0 across 35+ Google reviews Top 1% Team — Greater Vancouver REALTORS®, 2023–2025 47+ years in the Tri-CitiesYour Inputs
Buy scenario vs. rent scenario
Numbers update instantly.
Example only. Enter the asking rent for the home you’d otherwise rent. For reference, CMHC’s Tri-Cities 2-bed average for purpose-built rentals (Oct 2025) was $2,175.
Tax-sheltered (RRSP or TFSA) 60/40 portfolio
Assumes transaction costs (5% sale on buy-side), and no moving / rental broker costs on rent-side. Tax treatment simplified — talk to an accountant for your specific situation.
Quick Answer
How do I know whether renting or buying wins for me in the Tri-Cities?
Compare your net worth under both paths over the years you actually expect to stay. Buying tends to win when its break-even year falls well inside that horizon. Renting tends to win when you might move sooner. Run the calculator twice, once with cautious inputs and once with optimistic ones, and see if both point the same way.
Why the break-even year matters
Rent vs buy isn't a moral question — it's a time-horizon question
If you're going to live in a place for under 5 years in most 2026 Coquitlam scenarios, renting usually wins when you account for transaction costs on the sale side and the opportunity cost of the down payment. If you're going to live there 8+ years, buying usually wins — mortgage paydown, home appreciation, and the locked-in housing cost compound faster than an equity portfolio on the rental's equivalent capital.
The danger zone is the 5–7 year window, where the answer flips based on small assumption changes. A 50 bps change in either appreciation or investment return can move break-even by 2+ years. That's why this calculator lets you adjust every assumption — you're not stuck with someone else's defaults.
The other thing most rent-vs-buy calculators hide: forced savings. Renters say they'll invest the difference. Most don't. If you're the kind of person who will actually invest the surplus every month, rent-and-invest is competitive. If you're not — buying is a commitment device that forces saving through mortgage principal paydown.
The break-even year is what matters. Before break-even, rent. After break-even, own. The only real question is: how long will you actually stay?
— Craig Johnston, Coquitlam REALTOR®
Reading the results
What each output means
Break-even year
The year at which cumulative net wealth from buying exceeds cumulative net wealth from renting + investing. If it's less than your time horizon, buying wins by the end.
Net wealth (buy side)
Home equity (appreciated home value − mortgage balance − 5% transaction cost if you sold) − all carrying costs paid over the horizon.
Net wealth (rent side)
Compounded investment portfolio (initial down payment + closing costs + monthly surplus) − total rent paid over the horizon.
Renter's monthly surplus
If renting is cheaper than owning in year 1, the difference is treated as invested at your investment-return rate. This is the honest apples-to-apples comparison.
Wealth trajectory chart
Year-by-year net wealth for both scenarios. The point where the gold bar overtakes the brown bar is your break-even.
Transaction cost (5%)
Applied to the buy side if you sold at the horizon — realtor commissions, legal, staging, moving. Keeps the comparison conservative.
| Unit type | Tri-Cities zone (Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody) | Vancouver CMA |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor | $1,640 (b) | $1,667 (a) |
| 1 bedroom | $1,708 (a) | $1,807 (a) |
| 2 bedroom | $2,175 (b) | $2,364 (a) |
| 3 bedroom + | $2,627 (b) | $2,820 (a) |
| All units | $1,936 (b) | $1,970 (a) |
Source: CMHC Rental Market Survey, October 2025, primary rental market (purpose-built rental buildings; rented condos, townhouses and suites are not included). Letters are CMHC reliability grades: a = excellent, b = very good. https://www03.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/hmip-pimh/en/TableMapChart/TableCategory?geographyType=MetropolitanMajorArea&geographyId=2410&categoryLevel1=Primary+Rental+Market&categoryLevel2=Average+Rent+($)
Running the numbers in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Anmore and Belcarra
The calculator works the same everywhere. What changes from city to city is the price you'd pay, the type of home your budget buys, and how you'd get to work. CMHC reports Tri-Cities rents as one combined zone, so the purchase side is where the local differences show up. Benchmarks below are Greater Vancouver REALTORS® figures for August 2026.
Coquitlam
Benchmarks: apartment $646,100, townhouse $987,900, detached $1,599,100. Coquitlam has Millennium Line stations at Burquitlam, Coquitlam Central, Lincoln and Lafarge Lake–Douglas, plus West Coast Express at Coquitlam Central. If you'd buy near one of them, compare against renting near the same station.
Port Coquitlam
Benchmarks: apartment $558,300, townhouse $847,200, detached $1,243,800. Port Coquitlam has no SkyTrain station. Its rail link is the weekday, peak-direction West Coast Express from Port Coquitlam station, so include any car costs in the carrying costs on both sides of your comparison. See my Port Coquitlam guide.
Port Moody
Benchmarks: apartment $680,200, townhouse $986,900, detached $1,962,100. Port Moody has Millennium Line stations at Inlet Centre and Moody Centre, and Moody Centre is also a West Coast Express stop. See my Port Moody guide.
Anmore and Belcarra
Both villages are mostly detached homes, and Anmore's detached benchmark is $2,987,300. CMHC doesn't publish a separate rent figure for them, so enter the actual rent of a comparable home. If the lot is large, consider raising the maintenance input above the 2% default.
How I work through a rent-vs-buy decision with you, step by step
The calculator gives you a number. These are the steps I take to make sure the inputs behind that number are real.
- Step 1
Start with your real rent and timeline
I begin with the rent you actually pay, your lease terms and how long you realistically expect to stay. Then I compare your rent with CMHC's latest Tri-Cities survey figure for the same unit size, so we know whether your current rent is typical or unusually low or high before it goes into the calculator.
- Step 2
Price the home you'd actually buy
Next I pull the current Greater Vancouver REALTORS® benchmark and recent comparable sales for the exact property type and city you're considering. I get the real strata fee from the strata documents and the property tax from the municipality's current rates, so the buy side isn't built on guesses.
- Step 3
Confirm financing with your lender
I ask you to have a mortgage broker or lender confirm your qualifying amount under the stress test, your minimum down payment, any CMHC premium and whether a 30-year amortization is available to you. Those answers set the upper limit on the prices worth entering at all.
- Step 4
Stress-test the assumptions, then decide
Last, we run a cautious and an optimistic version, including property transfer tax and any exemption you qualify for. If the break-even year falls beyond the time you expect to stay, I'll tell you that renting may make more sense for now.
To see how other Tri-Cities buyers worked through similar decisions, read my Tri-Cities case studies. Read the Tri-Cities case studies →
Renting vs buying in the Tri-Cities — your questions, answered
What's the break-even point to buy vs rent in Coquitlam?
There's no single honest number. The break-even year depends entirely on your inputs, which is why the calculator works it out for you instead of quoting a typical range. The biggest levers are price, down payment, mortgage rate, rent, rent growth, appreciation and your investment return. Run it once with cautious assumptions and once with optimistic ones. If both versions break even well inside the time you expect to stay, buying is likely the stronger fit. That works the same way in Port Coquitlam or Port Moody. If you'd like a second set of eyes on your inputs, book a strategy call.
Does the calculator account for opportunity cost?
Yes. The down payment and closing costs you'd otherwise invest are compounded at your chosen investment return rate, and the renter's monthly surplus (if any) is also compounded. The comparison is apples-to-apples. The one input to be strict about is the return itself: use what you'd realistically earn after fees in the account you'd actually use. A rate you won't achieve makes renting look better than it is.
What monthly rent should I enter if I rent in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam or Port Moody?
Enter the rent you actually pay, or the asking rent for the specific home you'd otherwise rent. As a reference point, CMHC's October 2025 Rental Market Survey puts the average two-bedroom rent in its Tri-Cities zone, which groups Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody together, at $2,175 a month, compared with $2,364 across Metro Vancouver. That survey covers purpose-built rental buildings only. Rented condos, townhouses and suites aren't included, so for a like-for-like comparison with a home you'd buy, current listings for that type of unit are a better guide.
Does the mortgage stress test change my rent-vs-buy result?
No. Enter the rate you'd actually pay, because that's what drives your payments and wealth. The stress test only decides whether you qualify: lenders test you at the higher of 5.25% or your contract rate plus two percentage points, for insured and uninsured mortgages. What it can do is cap the purchase price you can realistically enter. If the calculator says buying wins at a price you can't qualify for, your real choice is renting or buying something smaller. A mortgage broker can confirm your qualifying amount before you rely on any scenario.
How do I factor in CMHC insurance if I'm putting less than 20% down?
Below 20% down, your mortgage must be insured, and the premium is usually added to the loan. CMHC's premium is 4.00% of the mortgage with 5–9.99% down, 3.10% with 10–14.99% down and 2.80% with 15–19.99% down. The calculator has no separate premium field. You can get close by adding the premium to the purchase price (this slightly overstates appreciation). Minimum down payment is 5% of the first $500,000 plus 10% of the portion above that. Homes priced at $1.5 million or more need 20% down.
Can I choose a 30-year amortization in the calculator as a first-time buyer?
Yes, if a lender would approve it. Since December 15, 2024, insured mortgages with 30-year amortizations are available to all first-time buyers and to all buyers of newly built homes. CMHC adds a 0.20% premium surcharge for amortizations longer than 25 years. With 20% or more down, the mortgage is uninsured and the amortization is up to your lender. A longer amortization lowers the monthly payment, which shrinks the renter's invested surplus, but you also pay down principal more slowly. Try both 25 and 30 years and compare the break-even year.
Does the first-time buyer property transfer tax exemption change the break-even?
It can, because it cuts the cash you spend up front. Since April 1, 2024, qualifying first-time buyers pay no property transfer tax on the first $500,000 of a home worth up to $835,000, which saves up to $8,000. There's a partial exemption up to $860,000. Newly built homes have their own exemption, with no tax at all up to $1,100,000. You must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and move in within 92 days. Lower closing costs usually bring the break-even year earlier. My property transfer tax guide has the details.
Should I include the BC renter's tax credit on the rent side?
You can, but it rarely changes the result. B.C.'s renter's tax credit is a refundable credit of up to $400 a year. For the 2026 tax year, the full credit goes to incomes up to $66,189 and phases out to zero at $86,189. You need to have rented an eligible home in B.C. for at least six months of the year, and you claim it on form BC479 with your tax return. If you qualify for the full amount, take about $33 a month off the rent you enter. If your income is above the phase-out, leave it out.
What if my landlord ends my tenancy to move in or sell?
It's a real risk of renting that the calculator doesn't capture, so weigh it separately. In B.C., a landlord ending a tenancy so they or a close family member can move in must give three months' notice, generated through the Residential Tenancy Branch's web portal. The tenant receives compensation equal to one month's rent and has 21 days to dispute. The same three-month notice applies when a buyer of the home intends to live in it. Moving costs, a possibly higher new rent and a change of school catchment aren't in the model. If stability matters to you, that's a fair reason to give buying extra weight.
Ready to run the math?
The calculator answers the math. I answer the "what now."
If your break-even is 4 years and you're planning 10, the question is which Coquitlam neighbourhood fits your budget and lifestyle. If your break-even is 8 and you're planning 5, the question is what a 3-year plan looks like. Either way — I can help you think it through.
Continue Reading
Related buyer guides
Buying vs renting (full guide)
The long-form article version with more Tri-Cities context.
Is now a good time to buy?
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Mortgage calculator
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Home affordability calculator
Income-first math — what Coquitlam lenders will actually approve.
First-time buyer case study
A real Coquitlam FTB story with every number named.
Buyer Resource Hub
The complete index of every buyer guide on the site.
