The buy-vs-rent discussion is more aimed at first-time buyers. If you already own a property that is largely paid off and has had the benefit of appreciation over the time you owned it, then yes, it may be more beneficial to keep the property, as you have seen from the calculator.
If the answer was always that rent would be cheaper, then the calculators wouldn't have to exist ;-)
> housing cost would almost DOUBLE
Except that you will now have the profits from selling your previous property, which you can invest. That investment payout can partially or even completely offset the cost of renting, which means your monthly costs will be much lower.
Say you make 500k by selling your house, and invest that against 6% ROI, then you make 30k/year passive income, thats 2.5k/month. So deduct that from the rent you'd pay and compare again.
First, I would be giving up several acres of land, and my dog and cats would be very unhappy.
Second, for me to get a house with the same bedrooms, housing cost would almost DOUBLE, and on average it looks like I'd lose around 800sqft.
I've been here for more than a decade. Moving would cost us a TON of money for no gain. (If we went to buy another home)
And that calculator also agreed (on rent not being viable, either!)