Rent or buy: how to do the maths honestly

Add up all the payments: rent, utilities (if not included), internet. That is your full monthly cost of housing as a tenant. The deposit is a temporary expense — it returns. Spread the agency fee over the term of the tenancy.

Renting lets you change job, city or country without losing your investment. That flexibility has real financial value — especially in the early stages of a career or in a volatile industry.

If you rent, the down payment (which you do not pay) keeps earning 12–16% a year in tenge or 4–6% in dollars on deposit. That return reduces the real cost of renting. Add it to your calculation — otherwise the comparison is dishonest.

On top of the monthly payment add: property tax, home insurance, building-management costs (if the flat is in a complex with a homeowners' association). In the early years up to 70–80% of the payment goes to interest, not to principal.

The international benchmark is to allow 1–2% of the home's value per year for maintenance and repairs. On a KZT 40 m flat that is KZT 400,000–800,000 a year, or KZT 33,000–67,000 a month. Owners often ignore this expense until it is time to replace pipes or windows.

Notary, registration, valuation, agent's fee — 3–6% of the price on purchase. Another 2–4% on sale. In total 5–10% of the flat's value 'disappears' just on entry and exit. If you plan to live there for less than 5–6 years, that one-off cost is hard to recoup.

In Kazakhstan, income from selling property held for less than one year is subject to IPN (individual income tax). Find out the current rules before buying: the tax can eat the entire 'price growth' of the flat over its first years.

Add up all the one-off costs of buying and selling. Divide by the monthly difference between the full cost of renting and the full cost of ownership. The result is the number of months after which buying starts to 'win'. On most Kazakh markets it is 5–8 years.

If you plan to live in this city for less than 4–5 years, renting is almost always financially better. If the rent of a similar flat is below 4% of its price per year, the market is overheated and buying is unprofitable. If the down payment 'eats' all your savings, you live without a safety cushion after the purchase — that is dangerous.

A long horizon (7+ years), stable income, a down payment that doesn't drain the reserve fund, a low rental yield in the market (rent is expensive relative to price) — under these conditions buying is usually more effective. Also important: if renting makes you anxious and 'a place of your own' has high personal value, that is part of the calculation too.