Last updated October 18, 2026

Rent vs Own in Fort Lauderdale: The Break-Even Year

At today’s Fort Lauderdale numbers, buying the median single-family home beats renting the equivalent home if you stay past year 8. Buying the median condo beats renting the equivalent condo only if you stay more than 30 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.

Price my home correctly or read how we price a home first. 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 Fort Lauderdale house at 7.37% with 20% down, $441 of the $3,866 principal-and-interest payment is principal. So the gross cost to own is $6,316 a month and the net cost, the part that is actually gone, is $5,875. The median single-family lease in Fort Lauderdale over the last 13 months was $5,200. That leaves a real gap of $675 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, $161,000, 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 7 years and ahead from year 8. By year 10 the owner is +$48,100; by year 15, +$180,600.

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. Fort Lauderdale’s own median rose 6.4% in the last year, which is why we do not use it: the default is 3%, and 2% is on the table.

Read it this way: if rates fall to 5.5%, the break-even moves from year 8 to year 4 without the price changing. If appreciation stalls at 2%, it stretches to year 12.

The condo case, which is a different conversation

The median Fort Lauderdale condo or townhouse closed at $440,778 this year, and the median condo lease was $2,900 (n=544). Gross cost to own is $4,584 a month: $2,434 principal and interest, $614 tax, $151 insurance, $184 interior maintenance, and a $1,201 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 beyond 30, and at 2% appreciation not until year beyond 30.

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

What we assumed, and why

• Prices: median closed single-family ($700,000, n=1,337) and condo/townhouse ($440,778, n=1,435), Jan 1 - Sep 30, 2026. BeachesMLS.
• Rents: median closed leases by property type over the last 13 months (317 single-family leases, 544 condominium leases). About 31% of Fort Lauderdale leases are furnished or seasonal, which lifts the medians; we did not adjust for it, so the rent side is if anything generous.
• Rate 7.37%, Mortgage News Daily 30-year fixed rate index, 2026-10-16. Term 30 years, 20% down.
• Property tax: 2025 total millage 18.4464 on the most common Fort Lauderdale taxing code, two $25,000 homestead exemptions, assessed value capped at 3% a year under Save Our Homes (s. 193.155, F.S.).
• Insurance: Broward County average including wind, Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, July 2026. Association fees: PBP HOA and Condo Fee Index medians for Fort Lauderdale.
• 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: Fort Lauderdale real estate.
• What the fee buys: Fort Lauderdale HOA fee index and condo fee index.
• The full cost stack against a neighboring city: Boca Raton vs Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach vs Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale vs Hollywood, cost of living, city by city.
• Registered private schools in Fort Lauderdale, by grade band: 63 schools from the Florida Department of Education directory. Assigned public schools sit on each community fact sheet.
• 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 Fort Lauderdale in 2026?

Month to month, renting: the median single-family lease is $5,200 against a gross cost to own of $6,316 at 7.37%. Over time, owning: on our defaults the owner is ahead from year 8 on a house, year beyond 30 on a condo.

Why is the condo break-even so much longer than the house in Fort Lauderdale?

The $1,201 median condo fee is a pure expense that grows every year. Change the fee in the calculator and watch the year move.

Price my home correctly or read how we price a home first. 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 September 2026 and for January 1, 2026 through September 30, 2026, retrieved October 18, 2026. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Leases: BeachesMLS closed leases, 2025-09-01 to 2026-10-01, medians by property subtype where n ≥ 10. Mortgage: Mortgage News Daily 30-year fixed rate index. 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.

Published 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.

Published by Gia Freer, Broker of Record, PBP Real Estate, LLC · Florida broker license BK689801 · brokerage license CQ1064615. Last updated October 18, 2026.