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[gcubed]

Houses would be so much cheaper if you were required to put down 80% rather than 20% down payment. In fact, the reason why it was brought down to 20% was so that more people could afford housing, but that spiked up the value and the cost of the homes.

whoa, lets not go crazy here. How about we just start with forcing people to put 20% down on a house? Because not many people are doing it today and its one of the reasons we had the bubble

 

[Walshicus]

I'd like to propose that this be added to the "List of Things Which Would Be Less of a Problem If More People Worked From Home" alongside road congestion.

 

[gcubed]

I'd like to propose that this be added to the "List of Things Which Would Be Less of a Problem If More People Worked From Home" alongside road congestion.

baby boomers fuck everything up

 

[Seth C]

Your rent will go up and up over that course of time while my mortgage will stay the same. Talk to me in 30 years and see if you still feel the same.

It hasn't changed at all in 5 years so I'm 1/4 there.

 

[shanshan310]

Fyi a quarter of 30 isn't 5. Maybe you should go through your books again....

It's expensive to rent in the most popular cities in the world? I am shocked by this news.

One of the most expensive cities in the world (way above new York) is Brisbane, Australia. I'd hardly call it popular.

 

[bodyboarder]

One of the most expensive cities in the world (way above new York) is Brisbane, Australia. I'd hardly call it popular.

It always amuses be that it'd be cheaper for me to move to NY. The whole job thing is the only problem I've come across

 

[Slavik81]

baby boomers fuck everything up

Until they retire and sell their homes en mass.

 

[RiccochetJ]

Until they retire and sell their homes en mass.

Why would they sell their homes?

 

[Slavik81]

Around retirement there's a lot of lifestyle changes which often lead to moving.

They might move to a place more suitable for recreation during retirement (Florida) or into a smaller place (no children anymore), or into a place without stairs (trouble walking).

 

[Loki]

there is no single answer to rent vs own.

The general rule of thumb is if the Rent Ratio is above 20 (meaning the cost of buying the house is 20 x more than a single year's rent) you should rent. If the Rent Ratio is under 15, buy. If it's between, well it depends on factors like property tax, maintenance costs, down payment, mortgage etc.

lols Good luck adhering to that rule in NY. Even in the outer boroughs (Brooklyn and Queens, especially Bklyn) the ratio would be around 45-60:1.

 

[5amshift]

Having your own aunt and uncle as your landlord keeps rent down $600 in Boston. Heh.

 

[Aeonin]

I'd like to propose that this be added to the "List of Things Which Would Be Less of a Problem If More People Worked From Home" alongside road congestion.

I work from my $475 one bedroom apartment. Its kind of in the ghetto, but since I'm mostly inside, I suppose I don't have an issue. Also, my work pays me shit.

 

[Plasmid]

My rent stayed the same but only if i signed by march 6th, which i did. although it was only 15 dollars a house, the property owner has like, 3-4 neighborhoods here.

 

[teh_pwn]

As a homeowner, I can tell you that interest, insurance, and maintenance are not that big of expenses. You would have to have a very large mortgage to incur $800 a month in additional costs.

Commute distance, furniture, utilities etc are not expenses that are exclusive to owning a home. Renters have to have furniture, electricity, and a way to get to work as well you know.

Also, mortgage interest is deductible, and there are quite a few other tax benefits to owning your home.

Not a lot of expenses? Well, at least in Texas I would be tossing about $4000 per year just for property taxes. That's nearly half what I spend on rent alone. Summers get really hot here. Utilities for AC in apartments get up to $150 to keep it at 78 degrees, houses can get up to $300/month. A 30 year mortgage can be 2.5x the principle...so $300 thrown out for a $200k house ($500k total paid).

As others have pointed out, the housing bubble has distorted short term trends with house prices, and if you adjust for inflation you see that it holds its value historically. Stocks on the other hand average about 6% return in real value (inflation adjusted). So yes, I am losing money on rent, but the different invested grows exponentially.

Plenty of reasons to own a house. You could call it an investment if you have a family. But personally I think that takes away the meaning of the term investment because you could extend it to any commodity. "well if I bought this nice car and suit, I would impress people and get more sales and increase my long term income" for example.

Deductibles are nice, but you're still losing.