The comparison most people start with is wrong
Rent versus mortgage payment is not the comparison. Owning a condo costs the mortgage plus condo fees, property tax, insurance and your share of anything the building needs. Renting costs rent, and someone else absorbs the roof.
Set the real numbers side by side before deciding anything. Frequently the monthly gap is smaller than expected, and occasionally it goes the other way.
The variable that actually decides it: time
Buying carries substantial one-off costs at both ends — closing costs going in, commission and legal going out. Over a short hold those dominate and renting usually wins. Over a long hold they are amortised across years and ownership usually wins.
The rough test is honest rather than precise: if you are confident you will stay roughly five years or more, buying tends to make sense. If you might move within two, it usually does not. Between those, it depends on the market and your circumstances.
What else belongs in the decision
- Forced saving. Principal repayment is saving you would probably not otherwise do, which is a real behavioural benefit even when the arithmetic is close.
- Control. You can renovate, you cannot be given notice, and your housing cost is more predictable.
- Risk. Values move both ways, and a special assessment is a cost a renter never sees. What those are →
- Flexibility. If your work or life might move you, renting is worth real money.
Buying is not automatically the responsible choice and renting is not throwing money away. The expensive mistake is buying something you have to sell within two years.