• callouscomic@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        30 days ago

        I bet you also think you pay income taxes cause they take it out of every check and then fail to connect the dots they gave it all back and then some during tax season.

        • bitflag@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          4
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          1 month ago

          What you forget is the cost of opportunity: the money that is stuck in a house is money that would yield income if it was invested somewhere else. Long term stock markets typically return 7%+, while rental return (or the rent you save by buying) can be anywhere from 3 to 7% depending on market, minus maintenance and other holding costs.

          So there’s no fast and hard guarantee that owning or renting is best - you need to run a proper simulation with the right parametres taking everything into account. In markets with low rental returns, renting is typically optimal.

            • bitflag@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              2
              ·
              1 month ago

              Let me give you an overly simplified example. You are in a property market where rental yield is 3% (happens in some cities)

              You could put a million dollar into buying a house and save $30k in rent every year

              or

              You could rent a million dollar house for $30k, and invest your million dollar in the market at 7%, returning $70k per year

              Obviously this gets more complicated with mortgages, taxes, maintenance, interest rates, etc. but the gist of it is that owning your home always comes with an opportunity cost, every dollar of house equity is a dollar that isn’t invested somewhere else. Depending on circumstances, renting might be the most economical choice.