2 ms·

Buying a house as an investment is so dumb. Its only an investment if you are renting it out to someone else, otherwise you are just gambling.

by Jtarii 2mo ago

bobson381 2mo ago
Agree here. But I'm a doomer/collapsenik - so, the same future coming for "retirement" is the same future coming for "house always appreciates in value". Maybe 1990 -> 2020 was an okay 30 year period, 2026 -> 2056 sure won't be.
- louthy 2mo ago
  > 2026 -> 2056 sure won't be. You have evidence from the future?
  - inigyou 2mo ago
    Do you? Where's your evidence global temperatures won't plummet 20 degrees tomorrow and reverse climate change? Past observations inform future predictions.
    - louthy 2mo ago
      I don’t have that information, but I’m also not claiming I do. The GP is claiming “1990 -> 2020 was an okay 30 year period, 2026 -> 2056 sure won't be.” The fact that there was Black Wednesday, 9/11, the dot com crash, the Iraq War, a once in a century global financial crisis, Brexit, and a global pandemic… suggests it wasn’t an “ok period” for markets. Yet, somehow, over the period of a mortgage, they all went up. The idea that humans won’t adapt to whatever happens in the next 30 years is ludicrous. There will be short term market instability, just like the events I noted from the previous 30 years, but planning for the apocalypse is mind numbingly stupid. If the apocalypse happens, everyone is in the same boat. If it doesn’t and you didn’t get on the housing ladder early, well, you’ll probably be buying a more expensive house in the future. I’m saying this as someone who waited far too long to get on the ladder when I saw how rapidly prices were ascending in the 2000s (leading up the the GFC). I used the exact language lots of people in this thread are using about prices coming down eventually. But I was wrong. Post the crash I couldn’t buy because deposit demands doubled. It took me out of the market for a long time. Ultimately costing me more when I did buy. The future always seems risky, it’s the nature of the beast.
      - inigyou 2mo ago
        If your bar for "ok" is "not literal human extinction" then yeah, it'll probably be ok.
        deleted 2mo ago
        [deleted]
      - deleted 2mo ago
        [deleted]
spacebanana7 2mo ago
In the UK at least there’s significant tax advantages to home ownership compared to renting. Easily 30-50% of the money you pay in rent is immediately burned in tax/letting agent fees that don’t happen to a homeowner who “is their own landlord”. Additionally there’s no capital gains tax on one’s primary home. Even if house prices stay flat it’s usually still better to own if rental yields in your area are higher than 5%.
bluGill 2mo ago
A house is a good hedge against inflation - my payments stay the same for 30 years of inflation, then go to zero (I still have taxes and maintenance so this is wrong - but it is close enough to true for discussion). Meanwhile rent is expected to go up with inflation. The longer you live in a house the better an investment it is.

Buying a house as an investment is so dumb. Its only an investment if you are renting it out to someone else, otherwise you are just gambling.

by Jtarii 2mo ago

Buying a house as an investment is so dumb. Its only an investment if you are renting it out to someone else, otherwise you are just gambling.

bobson381 2mo ago

Agree here. But I'm a doomer/collapsenik - so, the same future coming for "retirement" is the same future coming for "house always appreciates in value". Maybe 1990 -> 2020 was an okay 30 year period, 2026 -> 2056 sure won't be.

louthy 2mo ago
> 2026 -> 2056 sure won't be. You have evidence from the future?
- inigyou 2mo ago
  Do you? Where's your evidence global temperatures won't plummet 20 degrees tomorrow and reverse climate change? Past observations inform future predictions.
  - louthy 2mo ago
    I don’t have that information, but I’m also not claiming I do. The GP is claiming “1990 -> 2020 was an okay 30 year period, 2026 -> 2056 sure won't be.” The fact that there was Black Wednesday, 9/11, the dot com crash, the Iraq War, a once in a century global financial crisis, Brexit, and a global pandemic… suggests it wasn’t an “ok period” for markets. Yet, somehow, over the period of a mortgage, they all went up. The idea that humans won’t adapt to whatever happens in the next 30 years is ludicrous. There will be short term market instability, just like the events I noted from the previous 30 years, but planning for the apocalypse is mind numbingly stupid. If the apocalypse happens, everyone is in the same boat. If it doesn’t and you didn’t get on the housing ladder early, well, you’ll probably be buying a more expensive house in the future. I’m saying this as someone who waited far too long to get on the ladder when I saw how rapidly prices were ascending in the 2000s (leading up the the GFC). I used the exact language lots of people in this thread are using about prices coming down eventually. But I was wrong. Post the crash I couldn’t buy because deposit demands doubled. It took me out of the market for a long time. Ultimately costing me more when I did buy. The future always seems risky, it’s the nature of the beast.
    - inigyou 2mo ago
      If your bar for "ok" is "not literal human extinction" then yeah, it'll probably be ok.
      - deleted 2mo ago
        [deleted]
    - deleted 2mo ago
      [deleted]

spacebanana7 2mo ago

In the UK at least there’s significant tax advantages to home ownership compared to renting. Easily 30-50% of the money you pay in rent is immediately burned in tax/letting agent fees that don’t happen to a homeowner who “is their own landlord”. Additionally there’s no capital gains tax on one’s primary home. Even if house prices stay flat it’s usually still better to own if rental yields in your area are higher than 5%.

bluGill 2mo ago

A house is a good hedge against inflation - my payments stay the same for 30 years of inflation, then go to zero (I still have taxes and maintenance so this is wrong - but it is close enough to true for discussion). Meanwhile rent is expected to go up with inflation. The longer you live in a house the better an investment it is.