Renting vs buying in Durham
The City's MLS median sale price is up 3.7% on the year and Zillow's index of every home in the city down 3.4%, and the average apartment rent is up 0.34% on RentCafe's count. Here is the arithmetic, including a tax bill on values the County reset to market in 2025, the City's stormwater fee on the utility bill that the tax bill does not carry, and the mortgage insurance that stops in the middle of the model, and then the part the arithmetic misses.
Calculator
The short answer
Half the homes sold in the City of Durham in August 2026 went for more than $424,990 and half for less, up 3.7% on a year earlier, on 283 sales. That is the Durham Regional Association of REALTORS' figure from Doorify MLS, and it counts condominiums with the houses. A three-bedroom apartment rents for about $1,951. Run those against each other at a 2% appreciation assumption and the answer turns on how long you stay and on the mortgage rate, which was 7.28% on the 1 October survey.
The two price measures point different ways. The MLS median is up 3.7%; Zillow's index of every home in the city, at $389,634, is down 3.4%, its single-family index down 3.4% and its condominium index down 2.8%. One counts what sold in a month and the other models every home, so read both. The average apartment rent is up 0.34% on RentCafe's count, and North Carolina law forbids any cap.
The tax bill is two lines on values set at market in 2025. Durham County and the City levy 101.63 cents per $100 between them on the values of the 2025 revaluation, which the state measured at 100.23% of sale prices. On market value that is about 1.02%, or $4,331 a year on the median sale, until the 2029 revaluation. Downtown's improvement district adds 7 cents, and stormwater is on the utility bill instead.
Getting in is cheap and getting out is not. A buyer pays no transfer tax at all, because North Carolina's excise tax is charged to the seller, so closing runs to about $2,050 plus lender fees. Selling costs about 6% once commission, the excise tax and the attorney are counted, or roughly $25,499 on this house, which is the shape that punishes a short stay.
The calculator below opens with real Durham figures and every one of them is editable. Three warnings: the property tax rate is set to 1.02% of market value, an average, against the 1.016% the County and City levy on the assessment, so the seller's bill is the better guide to yours; the City's utility bill fees and any flood premium are in no figure here; and below 20% down the owner is charged private mortgage insurance every month until the balance reaches 78% of the price, at which point it stops. All three are explained in the questions below.
Your situation
Compare like for like: the rent on somewhere you would actually be willing to live, not the cheapest listing in the city. Drop the price to around $300,000 and the rent to a one-bedroom figure to compare apartments instead, and put the condo fee in under Assumptions.
20.0% down. The renter starts with this plus closing costs: $87,048: invested instead.
The single biggest lever. Buying costs a lot to enter and a lot to exit, and only time amortizes that away.
Assumptions: every one of them editable
The City's MLS median sale price is up 3.7% year over year, and Zillow's index for the city is down 3.4%. Zillow's condominium index for the city, at $254,099, is down 2.8%. Try zero, and try a negative number for a condo.
What the renter earns on the down payment they never spent. This is the comparison's hidden lever. A renter who spends it instead of investing it does far worse than this model shows.
North Carolina has no rent control, and no city or county in the state is allowed to introduce any: state law forbids a county or city from enacting or enforcing any ordinance that regulates the rent charged for private residential property. Nothing caps an increase at renewal, and the only protection in an ordinary tenancy is the notice period in the lease. The rent-growth figure here is a forecast in the fullest sense. There is no legal ceiling behind it.
Roofs, furnaces, fences, hail. Averaged out it is a real cost even in the years nothing breaks.
Zero for a house with no association. About 50% of Durham owners pay an association fee, but the Census median is $69 a month, mostly subdivision dues. A condominium or townhouse fee carries the building's insurance and reserves: $300 a month is a reasonable middle.
Commission and legal fees, charged against the price you eventually sell at. The owner's net worth below is after this comes off.
Net worth, side by side
The buyer's line is home value minus what is still owed minus the cost of selling, plus anything they invested in months when owning was cheaper. The renter's line is one portfolio: the down payment and closing costs they never spent, plus the monthly difference whenever renting is cheaper.
Show the year-by-year figures
| Year | Owner | Renter | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $70,760 | $108,554 | −$37,794 |
| 2 | $82,427 | $130,926 | −$48,499 |
| 3 | $94,523 | $154,205 | −$59,683 |
| 4 | $107,069 | $178,433 | −$71,364 |
| 5 | $120,091 | $203,652 | −$83,561 |
| 6 | $133,615 | $229,908 | −$96,293 |
| 7 | $147,670 | $257,250 | −$109,580 |
| 8 | $162,285 | $285,728 | −$123,443 |
| 9 | $177,493 | $315,394 | −$137,901 |
| 10 | $193,329 | $346,304 | −$152,975 |
| 11 | $209,829 | $378,515 | −$168,687 |
| 12 | $227,032 | $412,089 | −$185,057 |
| 13 | $244,982 | $447,090 | −$202,108 |
| 14 | $263,722 | $483,584 | −$219,861 |
| 15 | $283,302 | $521,641 | −$238,339 |
| 16 | $303,773 | $561,335 | −$257,562 |
| 17 | $325,191 | $602,743 | −$277,552 |
| 18 | $347,615 | $645,947 | −$298,333 |
| 19 | $371,108 | $691,031 | −$319,923 |
| 20 | $395,739 | $738,085 | −$342,346 |
| 21 | $421,581 | $787,201 | −$365,620 |
| 22 | $448,712 | $838,479 | −$389,767 |
| 23 | $477,215 | $892,020 | −$414,805 |
| 24 | $507,182 | $947,934 | −$440,752 |
| 25 | $538,708 | $1,006,333 | −$467,625 |
| 26 | $571,897 | $1,067,337 | −$495,439 |
| 27 | $606,860 | $1,131,069 | −$524,209 |
| 28 | $643,716 | $1,197,662 | −$553,946 |
| 29 | $682,592 | $1,267,252 | −$584,661 |
| 30 | $723,622 | $1,339,981 | −$616,359 |
- The rate is fixed for the life of the loan, so there is no renewal to model, but nothing here credits you for refinancing into a lower one either.
- Neither household is credited with tax on their investments, and the buyer's gain on a principal residence is tax-free while the renter's portfolio may not be.
An estimate from published figures, not a lender quote.
Questions people actually ask
Is it worth buying in Durham right now?
It depends more on the house, the street and how long you stay than on the market, and the two main measures of the market disagree about its direction. Half the homes sold in the City of Durham in August 2026 went for more than $424,990 and half for less, up 3.7% on the year, on 283 sales; that is Doorify MLS through the Durham Regional Association of REALTORS, and it counts houses and condominiums together. Across Durham County the median was $426,250, up 1.5%. Zillow's model of a typical value in the city is $389,634, down 3.4%. On rents, RentCafe has the average apartment up 0.34% on the year and Zillow's observed rent index up 1.8%. At 7.28% on a 30-year loan, the mortgage on the median sale with 20% down is $2,326 a month; add $361 of property tax and $198 of homeowners insurance and the owner's month is about $2,885, against a three-bedroom apartment at about $1,951.
How long do you have to stay for buying to beat renting in Durham?
Longer than the low closing costs suggest, because the cost of selling is where North Carolina takes its money. Getting in is cheap: no transfer tax for the buyer, a closing attorney, an owner's title policy, an inspection and the register of deeds, roughly $2,050. Getting out costs about 6%: roughly 5.5% of commission, the seller's 0.2% excise tax, and the attorney at that end. On a $424,990 house that is about $25,499. On the defaults below owning never catches renting at all: the renter is ahead in every one of the 30 years the model runs. The friction alone is a shorter and different answer: at a 2% appreciation assumption those two ends take about 3.4 years to earn back, almost all of it the cost of selling.
Why does this page use 1.02% property tax when Durham charges 101.63 cents per $100?
Because the two are almost the same thing here, and the page applies the state's arithmetic the same way in every North Carolina city. For fiscal 2027 a house in the city pays Durham County 57.92 cents per $100 and the City 43.71, 101.63 in all, against 99.13 a year earlier, and no fire district. Both are levied on the values of the 1 January 2025 revaluation, which the Department of Revenue's ratio study measured at 100.23% of sale prices, publishing Durham's effective county rate as 0.5555% against the nominal 0.5542% on that arithmetic. Apply the same ratio to the combined rate and you get 1.02% of market value, about $4,331 a year on a $424,990 house assessed like the average one, against $4,319 at the rate on the bill. The ratio is from 2024 sales, though, and the values stay put until 2029 while prices move, so ask for the seller's bill: it is the County's value for that house, not an average.
What did the 2025 revaluation do to the tax bill?
It reset every value and the rates fell to meet it. Durham County revalued every parcel to 100% of market value as of 1 January 2025, the first reappraisal since 2019, and the County Manager wrote that it drew more than 10,000 appeals. The combined rate for a City of Durham address went from 139.49 cents per $100 on the old values to 99.13 on the new ones. For fiscal 2027 the County raised its rate by 2.5 cents and the City held its own at 43.71, though the City says its property tax revenue fell this year and that its median home, valued at $424,000, pays about $1,853 a year in City tax. The next revaluation takes effect on 1 January 2029, four years on rather than six, and the County's reappraisal page gives the reason: an eight-year cycle, in a county growing as fast as this one, creates more opportunity for inequities to grow. Until then a house is taxed on its 2025 value whatever it sells for.
Are there any special district taxes inside the city?
One that most buyers will meet: the Downtown Business Improvement District, where the City's line on the County's rate table is 50.71 rather than 43.71 cents per $100, 7 cents more, 108.63 in all. The County's fire districts are for addresses outside the city. A few hundred city residents, 445 on the Census Bureau's 2025 estimate, live in the slivers of the city in Wake and Orange counties and pay those counties' rates instead of Durham County's. The County's tax record for the parcel shows which district it is in, which settles it, and a Durham mailing address does not: Bahama, Rougemont and Research Triangle Park are not in the city at all.
What does the City charge on the utility bill, and is it in that rate?
No. None of this includes the City's charges on the utility bill. A house inside the City of Durham has no stormwater line on its tax bill: the City bills stormwater by the impervious area on the lot, $5.70, $11.80 or $23.64 a month for a house and $68.40 a year for a townhouse or condominium, with water and sewer on the same bill, and yard waste collection is $7.50 a month for households that sign up. Those are the City's own figures for fiscal 2027. No separate garbage fee appears on the City's pages this site read, and the City says water and sewer rates rise 12% for the average customer this year, so read the seller's last utility bill as closely as the tax bill.
Does North Carolina have rent control?
No, and Durham is not permitted to introduce it. North Carolina has no rent control, and no city or county in the state is allowed to introduce any: state law forbids a county or city from enacting or enforcing any ordinance that regulates the rent charged for private residential property. Nothing caps an increase at renewal, and the only protection in an ordinary tenancy is the notice period in the lease. The rent-growth figure here is a forecast in the fullest sense. There is no legal ceiling behind it. Rents here are up 0.34% on one of the two indexes this page cites and up 1.8% on the other, which is a market condition rather than a protection. If you are renting long-term, set the rent-growth input above the 2% default and see what it does to the answer.
What are the closing costs on a Durham home?
For a buyer, low, and for the same reason as anywhere in North Carolina. The state's excise tax on conveyances is $1 per $500 of price: 0.2%, or $850 on a $424,990 house, but the statute puts it on the transferor, so the seller pays it. What a buyer pays is the closing attorney, which state law effectively requires; an owner's title insurance policy on North Carolina's promulgated rates; a home inspection; and the Durham County Register of Deeds. Then the lender's own charges: origination, appraisal, credit report, and prepaid interest and escrow. The $2,050 default above covers the first four and leaves out the lender's, because those vary by lender rather than by state.
How much do you need for a down payment in Durham?
Legally, nothing sets a floor: this is a lender's decision rather than a rule. Conventional loans start at 3% down and FHA at 3.5%. On a $424,990 house, 3% is $12,750 and 20% is $84,998. What the low end costs you is private mortgage insurance: at 3% down, about $299 a month until the balance reaches 78% of the price, which takes 12.8 years and about $46,000. At 5% down it is $225 a month and $32,700. The state housing agency's NC Home Advantage Mortgage carries up to 3% of the loan in assistance and its 1st Home Advantage program $15,000 for first-time buyers and veterans. Whether the City has a homebuyer program of its own open now was not checked for this page, so ask its housing staff before you count on one.
What does homeowners insurance cost here?
About what it costs in Raleigh, because the state sets both on the same territory. NerdWallet's Durham average is $2,380 a year for $400,000 of dwelling cover, $198 a month, which is the figure used here; Insure.com's is $2,719 for $300,000. The base rates are the state's: the Rate Bureau asked for 39.8% in territory 270, the cities of Durham and Raleigh with Durham and Wake counties, and settled with the Department of Insurance for 7.5% from 1 June 2025 and 7.5% from 1 June 2026. A homeowners policy does not cover flood. The City is in FEMA's Community Rating System at Class 7, which takes 15% off a flood policy inside the special flood hazard area, and where the map puts the address near Ellerbe Creek, Third Fork Creek or any other, price that policy separately.
Is Durham a student market?
Less than Duke's reputation suggests, and in a different way from most college towns. On the Census Bureau's 2024 survey 11.1% of the city's residents aged three and over were enrolled in college or graduate school, and nearly half of those in graduate or professional school, 15,939 against 16,351 undergraduates. Owners occupy 53.1% of the homes and the median household income is $82,916. RentCafe's averages, $1,422 for one bedroom and $1,632 for two, describe apartments, and Zillow's observed rent index for the City, which counts houses too, was $1,659 in August. The calculator opens on RentCafe's three-bedroom average of $1,951, close to the Census Bureau's three-bedroom median gross rent for the city, $1,989; Zillow's single-family rent index for the Durham metro is $2,137, so if the alternative to buying is renting a house, put that in instead.
What is the calculator not accounting for?
Federal tax, mainly, and it cuts both ways. Mortgage interest and property tax are deductible if you itemize, and whether itemizing beats the standard deduction depends on the household: first-year interest on the median loan is about $24,600 and property tax about $4,331. A principal residence's gain is excluded up to $250,000 single or $500,000 married under section 121, and the renter's portfolio is not. None of that is modeled, and none of it is advice. Three Durham things it also cannot price: the 2029 revaluation; the association fee that about 50% of the city's owners pay, which is zero in the default above; and the condominium market, where Zillow's City index is down 2.8% on the year.
Which figures here are estimates
The prices, rents, tax rates and the state's own assessment-ratio figures above come from published sources, each one listed below with the period it describes, and the tax figure is derived from those rates through the state's own ratio. These do not:
- The headline price as a single-family figure: it is the City's median sale price on Doorify MLS for houses and condominiums together, because the association's dashboard publishes no single-family median
- The property tax on market value, which applies the Department of Revenue's average assessment ratio for Durham, measured on 2024 sales, to every house: a house assessed above or below the average pays more or less, and prices have moved since the 2025 values were set
- The condominium fee, at $300 a month: the Census Bureau's median association fee in the city, $69, is mostly subdivision dues rather than a condominium's
- Home insurance at $198 a month, NerdWallet's Durham average on a sample policy with no flood cover in it
- The utilities an owner pays over a renter, at $130 a month, with the City's stormwater fee in it
- Maintenance at 1% of the home's value a year
- Every forward-looking rate: appreciation, rent growth, cost inflation and the return on the invested difference
- The private mortgage insurance rate, which is priced per borrower by credit score rather than published as a schedule
If you want the payment side on its own, with the biweekly plan, prepayments and the month mortgage insurance stops, the mortgage calculator covers it in more detail. To work out where rather than whether, start with the neighborhood guides.
Sources
- Market Statistics (Market Tools): August 2026 dashboards for Durham City and Durham County · Durham Regional Association of REALTORS (Doorify MLS data, Domus Analytics) · retrieved Supports: The Durham Regional Association of REALTORS and the Doorify Multiple Listing Service (Previously TMLS) report the following information pertaining to the Durham housing market in August 2026, City of Durham, single-family residence and condominium: a median sale price of $424,990 in August 2026, up 3.7% on August 2025, on 283 closed sales, a median 30 days on market and 4.5 months of supply, from the dashboard image at https://durhamrealtors.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Durham-City.jpg, Durham County, 23 cities selected: a median sale price of $426,250, up 1.5%, on 308 closed sales, from https://durhamrealtors.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Durham-County.jpg, Data provided by Doorify MLS and updated 09/08/26
- 2026 Tax Rates (FY 2026-2027) · Durham County Tax Administration · retrieved Supports: Operating Taxes + Capital Finance: $0.5035 + $0.0757 = $0.5792, City of Durham (1) $0.4371 $0.5792 $1.0163, City of Durham BID (3) $0.5071 $0.5792 $1.0863; City of Durham + Municipal Service (BID): $0.4371 + $0.0700, Solid Waste Fee: $185.00, for County residents outside the City
- Sales assessment ratio studies as of January 1, 2025 · North Carolina Department of Revenue, Local Government Division · retrieved Supports: Durham County last reappraised in 2025, with its next reappraisal in 2029, A median sales assessment ratio of 100.23% for Durham: assessed values are 100.23% of sale prices, on sales from 1 January to 31 December 2024, An effective county tax rate of 0.5555% against a nominal 0.5542%, and a coefficient of dispersion of 6.17
- Primary Mortgage Market Survey, 1 October 2026 · Freddie Mac · retrieved Supports: A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 7.28% as of 1 October 2026, against 6.34% a year earlier
- Tax Rates · Durham County Tax Administration · retrieved Supports: 2025 Tax Rates (FY 2025-2026): City of Durham, City $0.4371, County $0.5542, total $0.9913, 2024 Tax Rates (FY 2024-2025): City of Durham, City $0.5962, County $0.7987, total $1.3949
- Durham Commissioners Approve $1.05 Billion Budget · Durham County · retrieved Supports: The Board of County Commissioners adopting the fiscal 2026-27 budget on 8 June 2026 with a County property tax rate increase of 2.5 cents, to 57.92 cents per $100 valuation
- Durham Approves $767 Million Budget With No Property Tax Rate Increase · City of Durham · retrieved Supports: The City Council adopting the fiscal 2026-27 budget, holding the property tax rate at 43.71 cents per $100 of assessed value despite a rare decrease in property tax revenue, The median home valued at $424,000 paying about $1,853 a year in City taxes, Water and sewer rates increasing 12% for the average customer
- Real Property/Reappraisal FAQs · Durham County Tax Administration · retrieved Supports: Durham County's most recent revaluation was effective January 1, 2025. Next reappraisal will be January 1, 2029, The tax office values property based on 100% fair market value as of the effective date of the last reappraisal, Durham County's last reappraisal was performed in 2019, An eight-year cycle, for a fast-growing county like Durham, creates more opportunity for inequities to grow
- From the Desk of the County Manager for August 22, 2025, Tax Bills Information · Durham County · retrieved Supports: As of January 1, 2025, all real property was assessed to 100% market value, establishing new assessed values until the next reappraisal (2029), The 2025 Reappraisal resulted in more than 10,000 appeals
- Zillow Home Value Index, all homes, middle tier, smoothed and seasonally adjusted, by city · Zillow Research · retrieved Supports: A typical home value of $389,634 for the City of Durham (region 24457) in August 2026, against $403,339 in August 2025, down 3.4%
- Zillow Home Value Index, single-family and condominium series, by city · Zillow Research · retrieved Supports: A typical single-family value of $392,384 for the City of Durham in August 2026, against $406,281 a year earlier, down 3.4%, A typical condominium value of $254,099 against $261,384, down 2.8%, from the condominium file
- Zillow Observed Rent Index, by city and single-family by metro · Zillow Research · retrieved Supports: An observed rent index of $1,659 for the City of Durham in August 2026, against $1,630 a year earlier, up 1.8%, A single-family observed rent index of $2,137 for the Durham metro area in August 2026, against $2,068 a year earlier, from the metro single-family file
- Durham, NC rental market data · RentCafe / Yardi Matrix · retrieved Supports: The average rent for an apartment in Durham is $1,562, a 0.34% increase compared to the previous year, when the average rent was $1,557, last updated 30 September 2026, Average rents of $1,343 studio, $1,422 one-bedroom, $1,632 two-bedroom and $1,951 three-bedroom
- Median household income, median home value, median gross rent by bedrooms, tenure and association fees, tables B19013, B25077, B25031, B25064, B25003, B25142 and B25143, 2024 American Community Survey 1-year estimates, Durham city · United States Census Bureau, via the Census Reporter API · retrieved Supports: A median household income of $82,916 and a median owner-occupied home value of $439,400, 70,734 of 133,270 occupied homes owner-occupied, A median gross rent of $1,670: $1,455 for one bedroom, $1,712 for two and $1,989 for three, 35,466 owner-occupied units paying a required association or condominium fee, at a median of $69 a month, 2,859 of them $300 or more
- School enrollment by level, tables B14001 and B14007, 2024 American Community Survey 1-year estimates, Durham city · United States Census Bureau, via the Census Reporter API · retrieved Supports: 290,103 residents aged 3 and over, 16,351 of them enrolled in college undergraduate years and 15,939 in graduate or professional school
- Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 2020 to 2025 · United States Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program · retrieved Supports: A population of 305,561 for Durham city on 1 July 2025, against 300,834 a year earlier and an estimates base of 283,881, Of the 2025 estimate, 305,116 in Durham County, 298 in Wake County and 147 in Orange County, Greensboro city at 308,667 on the same date, Raleigh at 506,306 and Charlotte at 964,784
- TIGERweb, 2020 Census incorporated places · United States Census Bureau · retrieved Supports: Durham city (GEOID 3719000): 283,506 residents and 128,005 housing units at the 2020 census
- 2025 Gazetteer files: places, North Carolina · United States Census Bureau · retrieved Supports: A land area of 119.945 square miles and a water area of 0.831 square miles for Durham city
- Stormwater Utility Fee · City of Durham · retrieved Supports: Current stormwater utility fees as of 1 July 2026: Tier 1 (less than 2,000 square feet of impervious area) $5.70 a month, Tier 2 (2,000 to 3,999) $11.80, Tier 3 (more than 3,999) $23.64, Individually owned townhomes and condominiums billed at the residential Tier 1 rate, $68.40 annually
- Yard Waste · City of Durham · retrieved Supports: Households that participate in the yard waste program pay a $7.50 monthly fee, which is added to their water bill: an annual fee of $90 broken into monthly payments
- Cart Information · City of Durham · retrieved Supports: A $1.50 monthly fee for each additional garbage or yard waste cart
- Solid Waste/Storm Water FAQs · Durham County Tax Administration · retrieved Supports: Solid waste decals mailed with the annual tax bill to County residents not living in the City limits of Durham, The County stormwater utility fee charged to developed properties in the unincorporated areas of Durham County
- 2024 proposed homeowners insurance increase settlement table · North Carolina Department of Insurance · retrieved Supports: Territory 270, the cities of Durham and Raleigh and Durham and Wake counties: a Rate Bureau request of 39.8%, settled at 7.5% from 1 June 2025 and 7.5% from 1 June 2026
- North Carolina homeowners insurance · NerdWallet · retrieved Supports: An average Durham premium of $2,380 a year, $198 a month, against $2,420 in Raleigh and $2,150 in Greensboro, A North Carolina average of $3,025 a year, on a sample policy with $400,000 in dwelling coverage, $300,000 in liability and a $1,000 deductible
- How much is homeowners insurance in Durham, North Carolina? · Insure.com · retrieved Supports: Homeowners in Durham pay an average of $2,719 per year for a policy with $300,000 in dwelling coverage, $100,000 in liability, and a $1,000 deductible
- Renters insurance in North Carolina · NerdWallet · retrieved Supports: An average Durham renters premium of $158 a year, $13 a month
- CRS eligible communities, April 2025 · Federal Emergency Management Agency · retrieved Supports: The City of Durham (NC 370086) in the Community Rating System at Class 7 since 1 October 2019, a 15% discount on flood insurance premiums in the special flood hazard area
These are estimates built from published figures, not a lender quote, a pre-approval or financial advice. Rates, premiums and state and federal rules change; confirm anything you plan to act on with a mortgage professional and read the sourcing methodology.