• UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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    16 minutes ago

    What @gaiussabinus said.

    But the math of it is two-fold. Firstly - unless you’re deeply in the know - you’re always going to do better putting money into an ETF than real estate. Especially true since COVID, when the market’s been doing 20-30% annually. Secondly - the real financial benefit of home ownership is the locked-in mortgage rate, with some knock-on benefits when you make capital improvements that pay off against utilities or transportation costs long term.

    The cost of flipping a home is enormous - easily 3-6% of the house’s sell-value - so the people who benefit the most from turnover tend to be the real estate agents not the homeowners. And the risk that you’ve bought into a flat or deflating housing market far outweighs the anticipated returns from short term housing flips (unless, again, you’re already a real estate agent who can eat the administrative cost of title transfers).

    As a general rule, you want to buy a house with a mortgage note you can afford, keep it in good repair to minimize utilities, and then simply enjoy the fact that you don’t have a landlord threatening to raise your rents every year. Minimizing future outlays, not speculating on the future value, makes owning a home an attractive financial decision.