Population and Housing

[dtkvictim]

I see a lot of boomer comments on housing related news articles (don't ask why I read the comments...) stating no sympathy for younger generations, because they have it so easy with 2% interest rates. Back in their day they had an uphill both ways 12% rate! They seem to ignore the fact that, especially with housing, people are only concerned with the carrying cost (mortgage payments) leading to proportional asset inflation.

Gotta stay far away from comment sections my dude. Those places will give you brainrot haha.

Boomers need their internet privileges taken away TBH. Not only did they ruin the world and planet, they've now ruined the internet. Used to be "our" place to unplug (by plugging in) and have fun in a new technology, culture and world but then Web 2.0 dumbed down the internet to the point every dumb boomer in the world is on Twitter or in comment sections saying asinine things.

If I'm not hearing arguments that are new and uncomfortable to me, then I'm stagnating with my present beliefs than I'm sure are flawed. And trust me, there are far more upsetting places you can (and I do) browse than mainstream media comment sections. They certainly aren't the most informed arguments, but you can find nuggets of truth or a good laugh anywhere...

Despite being an early adopter of both Facebook and Twitter, I've been without social media accounts for almost a decade now (unless you count this forum). Believe me, it frees up a massive amount of mental capacity to deal with things you wish you hadn't read.

You are probably right about the internet having been irreversibly changed from what it was in the early 2000s though, but it had already been a decade of the eternal September at that point, so who am I to complain.

Do we really look down on renters? I know some professional people who prefer to rent, for reasons similar to yours. And I don't think they're looked down on. On the other hand, many people aspire to own their houses (or condos), either to "own" something, or because they believe that it's a fabulous investment. I personally think it's more of the latter and less of the former.

Finally, there is far less variety and selection in the rental market than in the houses and condos being sold.

I don't know if "looking down" is perfectly accurate, but a lot of people have some sort of related sentiment. There is a lot of pressure in my family to own a house, which says at least something about my family's opinion of renters.

And in my opinion is very unfortunate that our society looks down on renters. There can be many advantages to renting. Peace of mind, stability, and flexibility are obvious examples. But they fall apart when legislation and the market conspire to make housing an investment not a home.

...

Renting gives you peace of mind and stability because when the roof on the house I live in right now fails, I don't need to come up with 50k to replace it, nor do I need to come up with 15k for a new combi heatpump. I also have the next 3 years of rent increases locked in the same way a mortgagee would.

I don't agree with the arguments of peace of mind and stability though. Renters don't have particularly strong guarantees of long term occupancy, which basically throws peace of mind out the window. Even with extremely strong renter rights, I can't imagine a scenario where I'd be confident that I could live out my entire life in a rental, which is what I would need for peace of mind and stability. If there is a possibility I have to move on anyone's terms other than my own, I don't have either of those things.

Even your "unexpected" costs aren't entirely unexpected, and can be planned for. To be honest, I'm more confident in my own ability to budget and plan for such expenses and routine maintenance than I am in any landlord.