Are you restricting rent to "living with roommates"? And not allowing for owning to be "rent out to others"?
In San Francisco, owning is incredibly expensive. But so is renting an equivalent piece of property. So I'm not grasping why the options are limited to rent or "move away". (aside from exceptions such as renting under rent control)
The rents in London are depressed by foreign investors who buy up properties and rent them out. This reduces the supply of properties to buy, and increases the supply of properties to rent.
Right so the calculator will tell you that it is better to rent if you believe the foreign investors are over-optimistic about future home price increases.
(Or alternatively, you don't yet have enough saved for a down payment. In that case, wait a few years and run this calculation again. If you still won't have enough money in a few years, your rent is too high for your income)
In San Francisco, owning is incredibly expensive. But so is renting an equivalent piece of property. So I'm not grasping why the options are limited to rent or "move away". (aside from exceptions such as renting under rent control)