Should I Sell or Rent My House? Compare the Real Numbers

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Keeping a home as a rental sounds like the safe, “smart” move until you run the numbers against what the market might do next. We break down a renting versus selling comparison chart built to answer one specific question: should you sell now or hold the property as a rental for three years? If you like seeing the math, there are visuals available too, so you can follow along instead of trying to imagine the figures. 

We start with the bottom line scenarios that matter most for real estate decision-making. What happens if your local housing market drops 20% over the next three years? After you count rental income and then subtract the real costs of being a landlord, including property management fees and other expenses, the “rent it out” plan can fall behind selling now by a surprisingly large amount. Then we look at the other side: if prices rise about 5%, the additional benefit of waiting may be much smaller than most people expect. 

From there, we zoom out to talk about why the upside forecast is conservative today and why downside risk is still real in many markets. We also show how this tool is personalized based on your home value, expected rent, mortgage, expenses, and local trends, because a one-size-fits-all rent-versus-sell calculator is never enough. 

Finally, we go beyond renting and compare different home selling options side by side, including FSBO, a conventional listing, and CPO paths such as a cash offer, so you can focus on estimated net proceeds and pick what fits your goals. If this helped you think more clearly, subscribe, share the episode with a homeowner friend, and leave a review so more people can find it.

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:16):
If you'd like to see the visuals for this show, visit
the show at realestatenewsradio.com.
That's realestate newsradio.comand click on the YouTube button.
Hi, it's Rowena Paxton here.
This is our new renting versusselling comparison chart, and
it's built to help you answerone important question.
Should you sell now or hold theproperty as a rental for three

(00:40):
years?
What this chart does is compareselling today with renting the
home out for three years usingestimated rental income and a
couple of different marketscenarios.
Now let's go straight to thebottom line.
This chart shows two keyoutcomes if you keep the home as
a rental for three years insteadof selling it now.

(01:04):
First, what happens if themarket declines by 20%?
That's this one right here.
And if you're listening on theradio show, there is a video of
this.
So you can see all the picturesas well.
So you're not just listening tome talking about the figures.
So if the market declines by20%, and where are we getting

(01:25):
that from?
It's not, you know, made upfigures here.
I'll show you that in a second.
So what happens if it declinesby 20% is when you take all the
rental income into account andthen the fees you're paying,
everything else, you could loseabout$83,000 by renting it out
instead of selling it now.
That's in this particularsituation.

(01:46):
I didn't choose this one, by theway, just to show this scenario.
So it's not just some made-upworst-case scenario.
Many markets are already underpressure, so this is a real risk
in today's market.
Now let's look at the otherside.
What happens if the market risesby 5%?
In that case, the gain fromrenting for three years instead

(02:07):
of selling now may only be about$600 to$2,500.
So here's your$2,500 right here.
I've rounded everything to makeit easier on the ears, and$600
down here.
The reason we're only projectingthe 5% here, because so you're
probably saying already, oh,well, wait a second, she said

(02:28):
decline of 20%, but she's onlygoing up 5%.
So the reason we're only showingthe 5% increase on the upside,
but a 25-20% decline on thedownside is this.
There are now only a few marketsleft, about a third of the
country, mainly in thenortheast, where prices are
still increasing.
And even those markets areexpected to stabilize as they

(02:50):
follow the rest of the country.
They're increasing a lot lessthan they were.
So the upside forecast isconservative because strong
appreciation is now theexception, not the norm.
On the downside, over athree-year holding period, a 20%
drop is still a very realpossibility in many markets.
In North Carolina, for example,not across North Carolina, but

(03:14):
in our area in Western NorthCarolina, we dropped anywhere
between 4% and 10% last year,and it's forecast the same for
this year.
So, you know, that's a very realoutcome.
It's not bad.
We just, you know, actdifferently according to what
the market's doing.
And of course, for buyers, it'swonderful.
They've been asking for pricesto decrease for a long time.

(03:37):
So this is why this chartmatters.
It helps you compare holding thehome as a rental for three years
versus selling now so you canmake a more informed decision.
And of course, this is not a onesize fits all.
It depends on your home value,your expected rental income,
your mortgage, your expenses,and what your local market is

(03:58):
doing.
That's why we personalize it.
This, by the way, is based on15% as a property management
fee.
That's pretty low.
It's often 20%.
On top of the rental comparison,we also show you your estimated
net proceeds depending on howyou sell.
That's for sale by owner,conventional, conventional CPO,
a cash CPO.

(04:18):
So you'll get all of this inone.
So for example, on this sample,in case you're listening on the
radio show, on a$650,000 home,the estimated net for sale by
owner, that's when you sell ityourself, is about$538.
That's when you take all theexpenses out, real estate
expenses, everything else.
This chart will show you all ofthis that you can find at
cashcpo.com.

(04:40):
Now you're not just comparingrenting versus selling, you're
also comparing the differentways of selling side by side.
The conventional sales about$520.
We call that grandma's listingbecause it's the way it's always
been done.
The conventional CPO is about$533.
Cash CPO is about$5.57.

(05:01):
It's not always that cash CPO ismore, it just is in this
particular case than your FISBOover here, and you'll get a
whole chart showing that, howhowever it uh plays out.
If you'd like your ownpersonalized version, go to
cashcpo.com.
We'll send you your rentingversus selling comparison chart.
That's this one right here,along with your full market

(05:22):
value offer with lots moredetails on that chart.
So you can compare everythingside by side and decide which
path makes the most sense foryou.
It's about you at the end of theday.
This is your probably the bizbiggest asset you have.
Go to cashcpo.com, that'scashcpo.com, and get yours

(05:43):
today.
This is available anywhere inthe continental USA.
If you'd like to see the visualsfor this show, visit the show at
realestate newsradio.com.
That's realestate newsradio.comand click on the YouTube button.