> It just has to burn money more slowly than renting which is the alternative you'd be forced to spend that money on You also need to take into account the opp

> It just has to burn money more slowly than renting which is the alternative you'd be forced to spend that money on You also need to take into account the opportunity cost of owning land. You can rent and invest the difference in other assets like stocks. If an asset class has much lower risk-adjusted returns than easily available alternative asset classes, I think it is fair to call it a poor investment.