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jammies · 05-23-2017, 07:10 PM

Renting is almost always much cheaper unless you want a giant place for a short-term. That's why people can afford to live in Vancouver but not in their own place, or rent in downtown Calgary without being able to purchase a half-million dollar condo with $700/mo condo fees.

There's a huge upfront cost to ownership that just isn't there with renting, and landlords don't charge according to their costs, they charge according to the market. It almost always takes multiple decades to recoup the investment on a rental property, and mostly the money is gained back by increases in the value of the property when it is finally sold, not rent paid.

There's certainly advantages to owning, but it is more cultural and status driven than economic. North Americans especially want their own tiny plot of land in a low-density neighborhood, somewhere to feel rooted and safe. You can usually translate the arguments against inner-city, high-density living into those terms: it isn't mine, it isn't private, it isn't safe.

05-23-2017, 07:10 PM	#432
jammies Basement Chicken Choker Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: In a land without pants, or war, or want. But mostly we care about the pants. Exp:	Renting is almost always much cheaper unless you want a giant place for a short-term. That's why people can afford to live in Vancouver but not in their own place, or rent in downtown Calgary without being able to purchase a half-million dollar condo with $700/mo condo fees. There's a huge upfront cost to ownership that just isn't there with renting, and landlords don't charge according to their costs, they charge according to the market. It almost always takes multiple decades to recoup the investment on a rental property, and mostly the money is gained back by increases in the value of the property when it is finally sold, not rent paid. There's certainly advantages to owning, but it is more cultural and status driven than economic. North Americans especially want their own tiny plot of land in a low-density neighborhood, somewhere to feel rooted and safe. You can usually translate the arguments against inner-city, high-density living into those terms: it isn't mine, it isn't private, it isn't safe. __________________ Better educated sadness than oblivious joy.