Last updated September 18, 2026

Rent vs Own in Lake Worth Beach: The Break-Even Year

At today’s Lake Worth Beach numbers, buying the median single-family home beats renting the equivalent home if you stay past year 18. Buying the median condo beats renting the equivalent condo only if you stay about 28 years, because the condo fee does most of the damage. 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 Lake Worth Beach house at 6.95% with 20% down, $379 of the $2,939 principal-and-interest payment is principal. So the gross cost to own is $4,851 a month and the net cost, the part that is actually gone, is $4,472. The median single-family lease in Lake Worth Beach over the last 13 months was $3,400. That leaves a real gap of $1,072 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.

Break-even: the year owning pulls ahead

We give both households the same starting cash, $127,650, 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 17 years and ahead from year 18. By year 10 the owner is −$54,800; by year 15, −$26,400.

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. The default is 3% appreciation, and 2% is on the table; Lake Worth Beach’s median moved +3.7% in the last year.

Read it this way: if rates fall to 5.5%, the break-even moves from year 18 to year 9 without the price changing. If appreciation stalls at 2%, it stretches to year 27.

The condo case, which is a different conversation

The median Lake Worth Beach condo or townhouse closed at $205,000 this year, and the median condo lease was $1,600 (n=28). Gross cost to own is $2,228 a month: $1,086 principal and interest, $292 tax, $193 insurance, $85 interior maintenance, and a $572 median condo fee. The fee is the problem. It is 26% of the cost of owning, it is a pure expense, and it grows. On these defaults the owner does not pull ahead until year 28, and at 2% appreciation not until year beyond 30.

That is not “do not buy a condo in Lake Worth Beach.” It means the fee, not the price, decides the Lake Worth 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 Lake Worth Beach shows the spread. Run the calculator with the actual fee before you decide.

What we assumed, and why

• Prices: median closed single-family ($555,000, n=945) and condo/townhouse ($205,000, n=447), Jan 1 - Aug 31, 2026. BeachesMLS.
• Rents: median closed leases by property type over the last 13 months (43 single-family leases, 28 condominium leases). About 25% of Lake Worth 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 21.6106 on the most common Lake Worth 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 Lake Worth 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.

Where the money goes next

• Closed prices and communities: Lake Worth Beach real estate.
• 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 Lake Worth Beach in 2026?

Month to month, renting: the median single-family lease is $3,400 against a gross cost to own of $4,851 at 6.95%. Over time, owning: on our defaults the owner is ahead from year 18 on a house, year 28 on a condo.

Why is the condo break-even so much longer than the house in Lake Worth Beach?

The $572 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.

Written and reviewed by Gia Freer, Broker of Record, PBP Real Estate, LLC · Florida broker license BK689801 · brokerage license CQ1064615. Last reviewed September 18, 2026.