A rent vs buy calculator for Turkey answers a question every renter eventually faces: is it smarter to keep paying rent, or to take on a Turkish mortgage and own? In a high-inflation economy the maths is unusually dramatic, because both rent and property values climb fast while a fixed-rate mortgage payment stays flat in nominal lira. This tool projects the full multi-year cost of each path — including the 4% title-deed transfer tax (tapu harcı), ongoing holding costs, and the equity you build — and tells you which option leaves you financially ahead.
How it works
The tool runs two parallel projections over your chosen horizon. On the buy side it charges the deposit, the buyer share of the tapu harcı, and any other closing costs upfront, then amortises the mortgage month by month. Each year it adds holding costs (property tax, building dues, maintenance, insurance) as a percentage of the home’s value, and grows the property value by your appreciation rate. At the end it credits you the home’s sale value minus the remaining loan balance — your equity.
On the rent side, you pay rent that rises each year by the rent-inflation rate, and the deposit you did not spend on a home is assumed to be invested at an opportunity-cost return. The final comparison is each path’s net position: money spent minus assets held at the end.
Buy wins when (equity built + appreciation) exceeds (rent paid + invested-deposit growth) over your horizon.
Worked example
Suppose a flat costs ₺4,000,000, you have a ₺1,200,000 deposit, and the alternative rent is ₺18,000/month. With a 45% mortgage rate over 10 years, 35% annual appreciation and 40% rent inflation, the high appreciation and inflation-eroded debt usually push buying ahead — but if appreciation lags the mortgage rate, renting and investing the difference can catch up. Change any input and both projections, the break-even, and the verdict update instantly. Everything is computed in your browser; no financial details leave your device.