• Nath@aussie.zone
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    5
    ·
    8 months ago

    Australia checking in: mortgage repayments are absolutely cheaper than rents. Especially if you bought pre-pandemic.

    Source.

    • GenEcon@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      8 months ago

      This only talks about rent. And when rent increases, so does the value of the property, because you can get more money as rents are higher.

      If you now consider the amount of work you have to invest into owning property and the associated risk of owning a house or flat, in an ideal market its simply not possible.

      And while the housing market is imperfect due to the high burden for entrance, I have never seen a proper calculation where mortage, insurance and maintanance comes out lower than renting.

      And, as a matter of fact, it doesnt even in your own example Sydney: https://www.smh.com.au/money/saving/as-costs-soar-is-it-cheaper-to-rent-or-buy-20230407-p5cywp.html

      • Nath@aussie.zone
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        8 months ago

        I’m not going to doxx myself by giving the exact address, but my landlady in 2019 wanted to sell the house we were in. She first offered the place to us for $430,000 - which would have been a discount because she wouldn’t have needed an agent etc.

        Assuming we had the 20% deposit to borrow $344,000 and taken her up on that offer, our current repayments would have been about $464 per week. Even without the discount, repayments would have been under $500.

        Instead, she eventually sold the property and we had to move to a smaller house where we are now paying $650 per week. Going from a 4 bedroom house with a yard to a 3 bedroom townhouse sharing the block with two other residences. No yard. Admittedly, we moved a suburb closer to the CBD.

        Take a look at Real estate for a 3+ bedroom house within 10km of any Australian city, you’ll see that $650 is not extravagant by any means.

        • GenEcon@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          8 months ago
          1. The 20 % deposit has to be taken into the calculation as well.

          2. You are completly neglecting insurance.

          3. You are negleticing maintanance.

          4. You are comparing two different properties.

          • Nath@aussie.zone
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            8 months ago
            1. The 20% deposit is the entire point. It’s the barrier of entry to home ownership that keeps people renting. Of course I factored it in, it’s why I spoke of a mortgage of $344k and not $430k.
            2. What does insurance have to do with anything? We are comparing rent to repayments. We have renter’s insurance now. We’d be changing that.
            3. Are you saying you spend over $100 per week, every week on maintenance?
            4. True. We’ve downsized from a four bedroom house to a three bedroom townhouse. You’ll just have to take my word for it that 4 bedroom houses in the next suburb go for about the same as the place we have because I’ve already told Lemmy enough about where I live.