What would owning cost me?
Estimate monthly payments and upfront cash for a Bay Area home. Use optional targets to compare cities, or enter a home price in the rent-vs-buy calculator below.
What would owning cost me? Optional · private
Enter your comfortable monthly housing spend and purchase cash. See estimated costs at each city’s median price and what exceeds your targets.
Purchase cash covers the down payment and buying costs. Enter what remains after keeping your emergency reserves.
Adjust mortgage, taxes, insurance & fees
These are editable examples shared across cities. Add the actual HOA and insurance quote for a particular home. Starting mortgage rate: 6.76% national 30-year benchmark, 2026-09-10; use your lender’s quote.
With less than 20% down, enter a mortgage-insurance quote, or 0 if your loan does not require it.
Using 20% down · 6.76% mortgage · 1.2% tax · 1% upkeep · $250/mo insurance · $0/mo HOA · 2% buying fees. HOA starts at $0; check the property.
Add both targets to see the comparison. You can also explore without a budget.
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Put your city choices beside your targets
Estimates at dated city medians, using the same assumptions. The homes that sold differ between cities.
Local benchmark cities: South San Francisco
Add both targets above to see city cost estimates, or open the calculator below to enter a home price directly.
Changing rates, down payment or fees updates every estimate. A larger down payment trades more cash upfront for a lower monthly payment. No available-listing search or loan approval is implied.
See these cost assumptions on the map →Check a particular home or compare renting
What could owning cost you?
Start with a home price and rent for a comparable home. See the monthly budget, equity built through repayments, and how your assumptions change the longer-term comparison.
Use a dated local price or rent benchmark
Local benchmarks to help you start
Sale prices are for single-family homes. Rental benchmarks include all rental housing and multifamily. They describe different populations; use a comparable property’s rent for your decision.
South San Francisco
$1,301,737Median sale price · Jun 2026–Aug 2026
$4,088 / monthCity-wide rental benchmark · Jul 2026
Explore the city-wide rent history
Zillow Observed Rent Index, all rental homes and multifamily, smoothed and not seasonally adjusted. Missing months remain missing. A rent index divided by a sale-price median is not a matched-property rental yield.
| City | Monthly rental benchmark |
|---|---|
| South San Francisco | $4,088 |
City-wide rents over time
Nominal dollars. Each series covers the named geography. 2018-05 to 2026-07.
View exact values (99 periods)
| Month | South San Francisco |
|---|---|
| 2026-07 | $4,088 |
| 2026-06 | $3,993 |
| 2026-05 | $3,933 |
| 2026-04 | $3,852 |
| 2026-03 | $3,774 |
| 2026-02 | $3,707 |
| 2026-01 | $3,650 |
| 2025-12 | $3,633 |
| 2025-11 | $3,610 |
| 2025-10 | $3,611 |
| 2025-09 | $3,598 |
| 2025-08 | $3,581 |
| 2025-07 | $3,625 |
| 2025-06 | $3,674 |
| 2025-05 | $3,676 |
| 2025-04 | $3,630 |
| 2025-03 | $3,553 |
| 2025-02 | $3,479 |
| 2025-01 | $3,480 |
| 2024-12 | $3,466 |
| 2024-11 | $3,520 |
| 2024-10 | $3,513 |
| 2024-09 | $3,533 |
| 2024-08 | $3,522 |
| 2024-07 | $3,514 |
| 2024-06 | $3,513 |
| 2024-05 | $3,504 |
| 2024-04 | $3,506 |
| 2024-03 | $3,497 |
| 2024-02 | $3,453 |
| 2024-01 | $3,403 |
| 2023-12 | $3,353 |
| 2023-11 | $3,359 |
| 2023-10 | $3,400 |
| 2023-09 | $3,432 |
| 2023-08 | $3,470 |
| 2023-07 | $3,473 |
| 2023-06 | $3,461 |
| 2023-05 | $3,429 |
| 2023-04 | $3,429 |
| 2023-03 | $3,434 |
| 2023-02 | $3,441 |
| 2023-01 | $3,427 |
| 2022-12 | $3,386 |
| 2022-11 | $3,391 |
| 2022-10 | $3,391 |
| 2022-09 | $3,435 |
| 2022-08 | $3,439 |
| 2022-07 | $3,430 |
| 2022-06 | $3,424 |
| 2022-05 | $3,391 |
| 2022-04 | $3,381 |
| 2022-03 | $3,348 |
| 2022-02 | $3,305 |
| 2022-01 | $3,283 |
| 2021-12 | $3,248 |
| 2021-11 | $3,234 |
| 2021-10 | $3,228 |
| 2021-09 | $3,248 |
| 2021-08 | $3,251 |
| 2021-07 | $3,175 |
| 2021-06 | $3,153 |
| 2021-05 | $3,122 |
| 2021-04 | $3,116 |
| 2021-03 | $3,048 |
| 2021-02 | $3,019 |
| 2021-01 | $3,036 |
| 2020-12 | $3,083 |
| 2020-11 | $3,131 |
| 2020-10 | $3,161 |
| 2020-09 | $3,182 |
| 2020-08 | $3,189 |
| 2020-07 | $3,242 |
| 2020-06 | $3,292 |
| 2020-05 | $3,346 |
| 2020-04 | $3,347 |
| 2020-03 | $3,355 |
| 2020-02 | $3,230 |
| 2020-01 | $3,207 |
| 2019-12 | $3,162 |
| 2019-11 | $3,251 |
| 2019-10 | $3,243 |
| 2019-09 | $3,243 |
| 2019-08 | $3,275 |
| 2019-07 | $3,220 |
| 2019-06 | $3,204 |
| 2019-05 | $3,171 |
| 2019-04 | $3,194 |
| 2019-03 | $3,182 |
| 2019-02 | $3,161 |
| 2019-01 | $3,148 |
| 2018-12 | $3,109 |
| 2018-11 | $3,106 |
| 2018-10 | $3,085 |
| 2018-09 | $3,128 |
| 2018-08 | $3,101 |
| 2018-07 | $3,218 |
| 2018-06 | $3,358 |
| 2018-05 | $3,342 |
Why rents and ownership costs belong in the lab
They make the price of a home easier to interpret. They also give us a separate longer-term hypothesis to test. Your cost assumptions do not become an appreciation forecast or a weight in the forecast mixer.
Research on prices and rentsResearch on ownership costData coverage and limits
What belongs in a homeownership budget?
Walk through a full example in What does a Bay Area home cost beyond the mortgage?
Buying a condo? Check HOA reserves, insurance and special assessments before relying on the monthly fee.
Look beyond the mortgage
The calculator adds property tax, insurance, HOA dues, mortgage insurance and a maintenance allowance to principal and interest. Replace the example inputs with property-specific figures. Keep utilities, major renovations and emergency savings in your wider budget.
Separate purchase cash from monthly payments
Upfront cash here means your down payment plus modeled buying costs. Your lender’s Loan Estimate explains estimated closing costs and cash to close; deposits already paid, credits and adjustments can change that amount.
Compare renting the same kind of home
Use rent for a similar home, then vary your holding period, financing and resale assumptions. The result describes your scenario. Home-price growth starts at 0% and can be changed; it is not a forecast.
For the underlying budgeting steps, see the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s homebuying budget guide and Loan Estimate explainer.
Still choosing a place? Compare city home prices and sales history. Have specific options? Compare costs and evidence for up to three homes.