I am going to do something most agents will not, which is run this honestly. Right now, in Burleson, renting is cheaper every month than buying. Meaningfully cheaper. Here is the real math, and then here is why people still buy anyway — because for some of them it is right and for some of them it is not.
As of the end of July 2026, the average home value in Burleson is about $340,000, down roughly 1% over the past year, with homes going pending in about a month. Average rent is about $1,780. The 30-year fixed rate averaged 6.67% in mid-August.
Five percent down, which is what most of my buyers actually put down — not the twenty percent everyone assumes:
| Line | Monthly |
|---|---|
| Principal & interest ($323,000 at 6.67%) | $2,078 |
| Property taxes (with homestead exemption) | ~$458 |
| Homeowners insurance | ~$300 |
| Mortgage insurance | ~$135 |
| Total | ~$2,971 |
| Average rent | $1,780 |
| Difference vs renting | ~$1,191 / month |
Illustrative. Your rate, your tax rate, your insurance and your exemption status all move these. Insurance in North Texas in particular varies more than people expect.
So buying costs about $14,300 more per year than renting the equivalent place, before you spend a dollar on a repair. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.
Now the other side of the ledger. In year one, of the $24,900 you pay in principal and interest, about $3,500 is principal and about $21,400 is interest. That is a genuinely bad ratio and it is the honest reason early ownership feels like renting from a bank.
It improves. Over five years you pay down roughly $20,000 of principal. If the house appreciates a modest 3% a year it is worth about $394,000, and after selling costs of around 6% you would walk with roughly $67,500 in equity.
Against that, your cash in over those five years is about $17,000 down, roughly $10,000 in closing costs, and about $71,000 of the monthly gap. Call it $98,000 out, $67,500 back.
At five years and 3% appreciation, buying in Burleson today does not obviously beat renting. It is close, and it depends on assumptions I cannot promise you.
Four reasons, and they are all real.
That $2,078 is the same number in 2036. The $1,780 rent is not — at 3% a year it is about $2,000 in five years and about $2,320 in ten. Your taxes and insurance will rise, but the biggest piece of your payment is frozen the day you sign. The gap in the table above is the widest it will ever be. That is the entire argument, and it only pays off if you stay.
Under three years, buying almost never wins — the transaction costs alone eat you. Five years is a coin flip on these numbers. Seven to ten years and the math is not close, because you are still paying 2026 principal and interest against 2036 rent, and the amortization has finally turned in your favor.
If you do not know whether you will still be in Burleson in three years, rent. I will tell you that to your face and I have told buyers exactly that.
That $135 is not permanent. On a conventional loan it comes off once you have enough equity, and between paydown and appreciation that is typically well before year ten. FHA is a different story — on most current FHA loans the mortgage insurance stays for the life of the loan unless you refinance, which is worth knowing before you pick the loan.
This is not a financial argument and I am not going to dress it up as one. But it is why most of my buyers actually buy, and I think it counts. Painting a wall without asking permission is worth something. Whether it is worth $1,191 a month to you is not a question a spreadsheet answers.
Values being down about 1% and homes taking about a month to go pending is not a crisis, but it is a different negotiation than 2021. Right now sellers in Burleson will talk about closing costs and rate buydowns in a way they would not have three years ago. A seller-paid buydown can move that $2,078 down materially for the first couple of years. That does not show up in any online calculator and it is the single most useful thing I can negotiate for you today.
Want this run on your actual numbers? Send me what you pay in rent and roughly what you have saved, and I will do this same math for your situation — including telling you if the answer is to wait.
Run my numbers
REALTOR® · BHHS PenFed Realty Texas
I help buyers and sellers in Fort Worth, Burleson, Crowley and Keller. I write these because they are the questions I answer on the phone every week, and most people never get a straight answer to them. If you have one I have not covered, ask me — I will probably turn it into the next post.