What is the real 10-year difference?

Comparing renting against owning over a ten-year stretch requires your specific numbers, current interest rates, and local property tax and insurance costs, none of which this site can responsibly reduce to one generic figure without inventing a statistic. Equity built through principal paydown and any appreciation are the main factors that separate ownership from renting over time, weighed against maintenance costs and the opportunity cost of a down payment invested elsewhere instead. Running your actual numbers against a specific home gives a real answer. Joel Boss can help build that comparison for a property you are considering.