WORDS I LIKE — Truth beats comfortable assumptions.
Someone always says it.
Usually with total confidence.
Renting is throwing your money away.
It sounds true.
It’s not quite right.
The real question is smaller than that — and it has an actual answer.
The Denver Piece Nobody Talks About.
Every housing dollar falls into one of two buckets. Recoverable costs come back to you eventually — your down payment, the equity you build. Non-recoverable costs are gone for good — interest, taxes, insurance, maintenance, and all of rent.
In Denver, a median single-family home runs $660,000, per DMAR — Denver’s realtor association. Mortgage News Daily has the 30-year rate at 6.75% this week. A comparable single-family rental runs $2,895 a month, per DMAR’s rental data. That gap is the real math, not a feeling.
Most people assume buying always wins eventually. The smarter view: it depends on how that price compares to rent, and how long you’ll stay. A price gap this wide usually favors renting in the near term. Time is what closes it.
That’s not an argument against buying. It’s an argument against a blanket rule. Your specific listing, your specific rent comparison, and how long you’ll actually stay decide the outcome, not a national headline.
Run Your Own Numbers
Don't take a national headline's word for it — see how your specific rent vs. buy math shakes out.
THIS WEEK'S TAKEAWAY
Renting isn’t wasted money. It’s a math problem, not a moral one.
Want Clarity On Your Numbers?
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PS
Reply “rent” or “buy” — whichever one you’re actually weighing right now.
No spam. No sales pitches. Just clarity.
— Neil Christiansen, Certified Mortgage Advisor
