Rent vs buy in Bellingham, WA
Bellingham, Washington: typical rent $1,908 /mo, typical home $657,528.
Renting comes out ahead by $85k over 7 years
Based on Bellingham's typical rent, home value, 20% down, and today's mortgage rate. The break-even point is year 17.
An opinion, clearly labelled, with the math shown. These are estimates, not quotes. Adjust a number and the stamp adjusts with it.
- Renting leads by
- $85k after 7 years
- Break-even point
- Year 17 when owning catches up
- Real cost of owning
- $5,503 a month year 1, against $1,908 rent
Change my numbers
The stamp relies on Bellingham's typical rent and home value. What you put in for rent, price and years can turn the verdict around.
Do your numbers differ from the city's?
Enter a rent, price and down payment of your own. The stamp updates to match.
Is renting or buying cheaper in Bellingham?
Count in the money you get back when you sell, and renting is cheaper by $84,604 over 7 years. For the first 16 years, renting costs less. By year 17, owning catches up.
Renting side Owning side Net cost so far, year by year.
In Bellingham, average rent against the mortgage payment
There's more to the picture than rent and the mortgage. Here are all the monthly costs for year 1, at Bellingham's typical price.
| Each month, year 1 | Amount | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Rent | $1,908 | All of it, every month |
| Mortgage payment | $3,585 | $3,160 of it is interest in year 1 |
| Property tax | $378 | 0.69% of the value a year |
| Insurance | $75 | Census median for the city |
| Upkeep | $548 | 1% of the value a year |
| Owning, cash out | $4,586 | $425 of it builds equity |
| Lost return on the down payment | $1,069 | What the cash would earn yearly: 8.3% |
| Buying costs, spread out | $274 | 3.5% of the price over 7 years |
| True cost of owning | $5,503 | Cash out, minus the equity share, plus both lines above |
Behind the Bellingham verdict: the numbers
- Typical home value Zillow ZHVI, September 2026
- $657,528
- Typical rent Zillow ZORI, September 2026
- $1,908 a month
- Private mortgage insurance is avoided with 20% down, and the engine doesn't model that insurance.
- 20%
- Mortgage rate FRED MORTGAGE30US, Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey
- 7.24%
- Home price growth Washington, 1995 to 2025, FHFA house price index
- 5.3% each year
- Rent growth CPI rent of primary residence, 2006 to 2026, yearly growth
- 3.5% each year
- Savings return 40% 10-year Treasuries and 60% S&P 500 with dividends, rebalanced yearly, 1928 to 2025
- 8.3% each year
- Property tax Census ACS 2020-2024, Bellingham
- 0.69% of home value
- Home insurance Census ACS 2020-2024, Bellingham
- $75 per month
- Maintenance Fannie Mae, low end: 1% to 4%
- Each year, 1% of value
- Costs of buying Freddie Mac, midpoint of 2% to 5%
- 3.5% of the price
- Selling costsAgent commission and closing costs
- 6% of the price
What would change the Bellingham result?
Each line marks where the 7-year verdict in Bellingham flips, with everything else left as it is.
Renting comes out ahead when
- Annual home price growth stays under 6.7%; our calculation uses 5.3%, Washington's long-run rate.
- For mortgages, the rate remains above 4.94%.
- A similar home rents for less than $2,810 each month (the typical rent here is $1,908).
- Your move happens before year 17.
Buying comes out ahead when
- Home prices grow by more than 6.7% a year.
- You lock in a rate under 4.94% (today's rate is 7.24%).
- More than $2,810 each month would be needed to rent that same home.
- You remain there for 17 years or longer.
Bellingham compared with the other 812 cities
| Measure | Bellingham | Median city |
|---|---|---|
| Typical home value | $657,528 | $422,451 |
| Typical rent | $1,908 /mo | $1,837 /mo |
| Price-to-rent ratio | 28.7 (#83 of 813) | 18.5 |
| Home prices, last 10 years | 7% a year | 6.2% a year |
| Rents, last 5 years | 4.4% a year | 4% a year |
| Property tax | 0.69% | 0.87% |
| Households that rent | 55% | 42% |
Data from: Zillow ZHVI and ZORI, Census ACS 2020-2024.
Other Washington cities
- Rent. Seattle, WA. Renting is ahead by $128k.
- Rent. Spokane, WA. Renting comes out ahead by $26k.
- Rent. Tacoma, WA. Renting saves you $41k.
- Rent. Vancouver, WA. Renting comes out $39k ahead.
- Rent. Bellevue, WA. Renting comes out $294k ahead.
- Rent. Kent, WA. Renting comes out $83k ahead.
- Rent. Everett, WA. Renting is ahead by $77k.
- Rent. Spokane Valley, WA. Renting is ahead by $30k.
- Rent. Renton, WA. Renting is ahead by $92k.
- Rent. Federal Way, WA. Renting is ahead by $61k.
- Rent. Yakima, WA. Renting is ahead by $27k.
- Rent. Kirkland, WA. Renting is ahead by $218k.