Last updated September 18, 2026
Rent vs Own in Delray Beach: The Break-Even Year
At today’s Delray Beach numbers, buying the median single-family home beats renting the equivalent home if you stay past year 6. Buying the median condo beats renting the equivalent condo from year 8. Below is how we got there, with every input from a primary source and a calculator that lets you change any of them.
See what your home is worth The owner you rent from should know this number too. If that owner is you, start with what the home is worth today, or call (561) 395-8418.
The honest number: gross cost, net cost, and what you keep
The monthly payment is not the cost of owning. Part of it is principal, which is money you keep. In year one on the median Delray Beach house at 6.95% with 20% down, $615 of the $4,765 principal-and-interest payment is principal. So the gross cost to own is $7,795 a month and the net cost, the part that is actually gone, is $7,180. The median single-family lease in Delray Beach over the last 13 months was $6,825. That leaves a real gap of $355 a month in the renter’s favor at the start. The rest of this page is about how long it takes appreciation, principal paydown and rent growth to close that gap.
| Month one, median single-family home | Own | Rent |
|---|---|---|
| Principal and interest, 30-year fixed at 6.95%, 20% down | $4,765 | — |
| Property tax with homestead (18.45 mills, two $25,000 exemptions) | $1,320 | — |
| Home insurance, county average including wind | $527 | — |
| Median HOA fee where applicable | $433 | — |
| Maintenance reserve, 1% of price per year | $750 | — |
| Rent, median closed single-family lease (n=124) | — | $6,825 |
| Renter’s insurance | — | $25 |
| Gross monthly | $7,795 | $6,850 |
| Principal paid, year-one average | ($615) | — |
| Net monthly cost | $7,180 | $6,850 |
| Cash at the door | $206,977 (20% down + 3% closing) | first, last and security |
Break-even: the year owning pulls ahead
We give both households the same starting cash, $206,977, and the same 30 years. The owner puts it into the house and pays the column on the left. The renter invests it at 4% and pays the column on the right, and whoever has the cheaper month invests the difference. Each year we sell the house on paper, pay 6.7% to get out, and compare what each household is worth. The owner is behind for 5 years and ahead from year 6. By year 10 the owner is +$140,400; by year 15, +$367,100.
| Year | Owner’s position after selling | Renter’s position | Owner ahead by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $152,300 | $226,800 | −$74,500 |
| 3 | $221,300 | $264,700 | −$43,400 |
| 5 | $296,000 | $299,700 | −$3,700 |
| 6 | $335,700 | $316,000 | +$19,700 |
| 7 | $376,900 | $331,300 | +$45,600 |
| 10 | $514,300 | $373,900 | +$140,400 |
| 15 | $821,900 | $454,900 | +$367,100 |
What moves the answer: rates and appreciation
The break-even year is not a fixed fact; it is a function of two numbers nobody controls. Here is the single-family case at three mortgage rates and three appreciation rates. Delray Beach’s own median rose 16.9% in the last year, which is why we do not use it: the default is 3%, and 2% is on the table.
| Break-even year, single-family | 2% appreciation | 3% appreciation | 4% appreciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.50% mortgage | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| 6.95% (current) | 8 | 6 | 4 |
| 7.50% mortgage | 11 | 7 | 5 |
Read it this way: if rates fall to 5.5%, the break-even moves from year 6 to year 4 without the price changing. If appreciation stalls at 2%, it stretches to year 8.
The condo case, which is a different conversation
The median Delray Beach condo or townhouse closed at $240,000 this year, and the median condo lease was $2,162 (n=302). Gross cost to own is $2,569 a month: $1,271 principal and interest, $305 tax, $193 insurance, $100 interior maintenance, and a $700 median condo fee. The fee is 27% of the cost of owning and it grows every year, yet on these defaults the owner pulls ahead from year 8; at 2% appreciation, year 13.
| Break-even year, condo/townhouse | 2% appreciation | 3% appreciation | 4% appreciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.50% mortgage | 7 | 5 | 4 |
| 6.95% (current) | 13 | 8 | 5 |
| 7.50% mortgage | 16 | 10 | 6 |
That is not “do not buy a condo in Delray Beach.” It means the fee, not the price, decides the Delray Beach condo case. A building with a $450 fee and funded reserves is a different calculation from one at $1,100 with an assessment pending. Our condo fee index for Delray Beach shows the spread. Run the calculator with the actual fee before you decide.
Run your own numbers
Estimates for comparison only, not financial, tax or legal advice. Property tax uses Delray Beach’s 2025 millage (18.45 mills) with two $25,000 homestead exemptions and the 3% Save Our Homes cap. No mortgage-interest deduction is assumed; most Florida households take the standard deduction.
What we assumed, and why
- Prices: median closed single-family ($899,900, n=813) and condo/townhouse ($240,000, n=1,453), Jan 1 - Aug 31, 2026. BeachesMLS.
- Rents: median closed leases by property type over the last 13 months (124 single-family leases, 302 condominium leases). About 37% of Delray Beach leases are furnished or seasonal, which lifts the medians; we did not adjust for it, so the rent side is if anything generous.
- Rate 6.95%, Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, week ending 2026-09-17. Term 30 years, 20% down.
- Property tax: 2025 total millage 18.45 on the most common Delray Beach taxing code, two $25,000 homestead exemptions, assessed value capped at 3% a year under Save Our Homes (s. 193.155, F.S.).
- Insurance: Palm Beach County average including wind, Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, July 2026. Association fees: PBP HOA and Condo Fee Index medians for Delray Beach.
- Buyer closing costs 3% of price. Selling costs 6.7%: brokerage compensation assumed at 6%, which is negotiable, plus Florida documentary stamp tax on the deed at 0.7%.
- Appreciation 3% a year. Rent growth 3%. Insurance, fees and maintenance grow 3%. Cash earns 4%.
- Maintenance 1% of price a year for a house, 0.5% for a condo interior.
- No mortgage-interest deduction and no capital-gains exclusion are counted. Either would favor owning; we left them out.
See what your home is worth
Every move between these places starts with one number on the home you already own. Gia Freer prepares a written opinion of value by hand from our own BeachesMLS data, with the comparable sales attached. No automated estimate is published on this site.
See what your home is worth or call (561) 395-8418. Conversations are confidential and there is no cost to having one.
Where the money goes next
- Closed prices and communities: Delray Beach real estate.
- What the fee buys: Delray Beach HOA fee index and condo fee index.
- The full cost stack against a neighboring city: cost of living comparisons.
- Every city with a rent-vs-own page: rent vs own in South Florida.
- Selling the home someone else rents from you: what your home is worth.
Common questions
Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Delray Beach in 2026?
Month to month, renting: the median single-family lease is $6,825 against a gross cost to own of $7,795 at 6.95%. Over time, owning: on our defaults the owner is ahead from year 6 on a house, year 8 on a condo.
Why is the condo break-even so much longer than the house in Delray Beach?
The $700 median condo fee is a pure expense that grows every year. Change the fee in the calculator and watch the year move.
Does the calculator count the mortgage-interest deduction?
No. Most Florida households take the standard deduction, and Florida has no state income tax to offset. Leaving it out keeps the comparison conservative.
What rent growth do you assume?
3% a year. Our closed-lease series is 13 months long, too short to publish a growth rate; the field is adjustable.
See what your home is worth Two cities, every input shown. The one figure this page cannot show you is your own; that takes a conversation: (561) 395-8418.
Sources and method
Based on information from BeachesMLS for August 2026 and for January 1, 2026 through August 31, 2026, retrieved September 17, 2026. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Leases: BeachesMLS closed leases, 2025-08-01 to 2026-09-01, medians by property subtype where n ≥ 10. Mortgage: Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED. Millage: Palm Beach County and Broward County Property Appraisers, 2025 final rates. Homestead: ss. 196.031 and 193.155, F.S. Insurance: FLOIR Property Insurance Stability Unit report, July 2026. Fees: PBP HOA and condo fee indexes. Method: month-by-month wealth comparison, both households starting with the same cash, owner sold on paper each year at 6.7% cost; break-even is the first year the owner’s position equals or exceeds the renter’s. Estimates for comparison, not financial, tax or legal advice. Refreshed nightly with the underlying data.
Written by Gia Freer, Broker of Record at PBP Real Estate, LLC, licensed in Florida since 2000 (BK689801), brokerage license CQ1064615. This page was researched with AI assistance and reviewed by a licensed human before publication.
Common questions
Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Delray Beach in 2026?
Month to month, renting: the median single-family lease is $6,825 against a gross cost to own of $7,795 at 6.95%. Over time, owning: on our defaults the owner is ahead from year 6 on a house, year 8 on a condo.
Why is the condo break-even so much longer than the house in Delray Beach?
The $700 median condo fee is a pure expense that grows every year. Change the fee in the calculator and watch the year move.
Does the calculator count the mortgage-interest deduction?
No. Most Florida households take the standard deduction, and Florida has no state income tax to offset. Leaving it out keeps the comparison conservative.
What rent growth do you assume?
3% a year. Our closed-lease series is 13 months long, too short to publish a growth rate; the field is adjustable.
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For sellers
Pricing a home is a skill. Start with the current competition and recent closed sales.
40.3% of active single-family houses listings in Delray Beach have a recorded asking price below their original list price.
The data comes from the segment and recorded fields available in PBP Real Estate's BeachesMLS feed, as of the date shown. Gia Freer, Broker of Record, turns comparable sales and current competition into one written pricing opinion for your home, with the reasoning, before it goes live.
No website estimate, no automated number: a comparative market analysis done by hand, within one business day.
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