4 ms·

Housing is not a perishable resource (to an extent, yes I realize maintenance is a thing). It's not comparable

• kbutler 9y ago
  > maintenance is a thing Yeah, I used to think "home ownership" meant I owned the home, not the other way around. Speaking as a homeowner, with a garden, fruit trees, and formerly chickens and goats, they're very comparable. Renting meets the daily housing need, without ownership in the assets that provide for that need in the future. Buying food meets the daily food need, without ownership in the assets that provide for that need in the future. Alternatively, people could buy land and equipment/building and develop skills to use/maintain them, allowing them to meet their future food/housing needs. The key element is that people can choose how they want to spend their resources (money, time, and attention). Sometimes buying is better, sometimes renting is. And yes, people do often make decisions that turn out not to have been in their best long-term interest.