Should I Buy or Should I Rent?

Owning a home is the Australian dream – but for the bulk of Australians, that dream is a far-fetched reality. For many of us, that forced step of putting aside a huge bulk of our income towards a deposit is the shove into the world of savings that we have to do when we’ve become all-too comfortable with renting.

In the world of instant gratification, none of us want to wait to reap the rewards. Many Australians perceive that sacrificing their earnings to be investing in the future has become less and less attractive, yet many of us seek to own a piece of a prized possession, putting our hard earned cash towards an asset we can call our own. Many countries aren’t afforded as much land as we are blessed with, so it makes sense that we’d want to own our own piece of home. Is buying worth it in the long run? You decide…

The buyer’s advocate

• On one hand, your property’s purchase price is not going to inflate unlike rental prices, which tend to grow year on year. Repayments on purchased property get better year after year.

• Assuming careers progress and salaries increase, then paying back a loan generally gets easier over time, unlike rents which tend to rise with interest rates.

• Homes tend to favour appreciation over time and – hopefully – enjoy retirement and profiting from your net worth.
• Down the track, not putting aside a solid property investment may leave you strapped for necessary cash come retirement, with merely a pension to live off.

The renter’s advocate

• Mortgages are long! 25 years of a contract is a huge chunk of our lifetimes and can seem daunting to lock ourselves into such a fixed term of debt. Many of us don’t aspire to be renting for exceptional periods of time.

• A crippling mortgage, on top of an unsound property investment, may mean that renting is your better option.

• Renters needn’t worry about ongoing maintenance costs and repairs, insurance, taxes, or the pressing need to keep their home in sellable condition – although they need to ensure their inhabited property does not breach any rental agreements, either.

• Consider the factors of owning a home for home ownership’s sake – if you compromise on location and find yourself living much further from the CBD or shops, hospitals, and amenities than you would like , what will your quality of life be? What savings from purchasing property away from more expensive areas will you be forced to spend on costly, longer commutes etc?

All in all, it comes down to your individual circumstances. Whether or not you have a large family to provide for, whether you’re looking at buying your first home, whether you want to move into an area for easy access to nightlife and entertainment precincts. Deciding to buy or rent is a personal preference – and identifying these determining factors may help you get on your way to making the right choice for you.

Are you scouring the Brisbane market? Come and talk to Hicks Real Estate! We’re happy to take your call on 07 3355 6845.