Compare dollar-cost averaging into an investment property vs. the S&P 500 with the same cash: down payment plus each month's out-of-pocket (mortgage, taxes, HOA, maintenance minus rent). Real-estate property gain = appreciation minus mortgage interest; surplus rent is reinvested in SPY. ZIP-level FHFA appreciation and historical SPY returns.
Pick a ZIP for local appreciation (10-year FHFA CAGR, projected forward). Enter gross monthly rent for an investment property; when rent exceeds costs, the surplus is reinvested in SPY on the real-estate path.
Investment property income. Set to 0 for a primary residence.
Leave blank to use ZIP/national FHFA rate (e.g. 0.25 = 0.25%/mo).
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Educational model only — not tax, legal, or investment advice. Both paths deploy the same dollars: down payment plus monthly out-of-pocket (ownership costs minus rent). Property gain = home appreciation minus cumulative mortgage interest. Surplus rent on the real-estate path is reinvested in SPY; the stock-only path does not receive rent. Home appreciation uses FHFA ZIP indexes (2015–2024 CAGR projected forward). SPY uses historical monthly returns where available, then a long-run fallback.