Everyone is praising owning over renting, but let’s look at the actual math. After factoring in maintenance fees, property taxes, interest payments, and historically lower real estate growth rates, wouldn't it often be smarter to rent and invest the difference? I get that if you own real estate, you can leverage it to buy multiple properties. But most people don't pursue that path, they just buy one primary residence and stay put. Moreover, looking at long-term data in Canada: Housing: Last 50 years averages a compound annual growth rate of roughly 5.5%. S&P 500 : Last 50 years 10%–11% annualized. Am I missing something? If you don't plan on building a multi-property real estate portfolio, doesn't a traditional mortgage lose out when you can just invest the spread between renting and owning straight into a global index fund?read more
Why renting a house is NOT "throwing money away." Everyone says buying a home is the ultimate Canadian investment. The math tells a different story. Here is why you might actually be better off renting... 🧵 Let's look at the real numbers for Toronto right now. The median rent for a condo apartment is roughly $2,500 per month. The average payment for a new Toronto mortgage is $2,817 per month. But the mortgage is just your absolute baseline cost. ⬇️ When you buy, you are hit with massive unrecoverable costs. Add in Toronto property taxes, condo fees, insurance, and maintenance. Your true monthly carrying cost easily jumps to $3,800. These are sunk costs that build absolutely zero equity. ⬇️ Let's compare the two paths. The buyer is paying $3,800 a month to live in that condo. The renter is paying $2,500 a month for a comparable unit. The renter now has a massive $1,300 cash flow surplus every single month. ⬇️ This is where true wealth is built. The renter takes that $1,300 difference and strictly invests it. They put it into a low-cost index fund. Historically, the broader stock market has returned an average of 10% per year over the last 100 years. ⬇️ Over a 15-year period, that compounding liquid wealth will often outpace the homeowner's locked equity. You are not throwing money away. You are trading a housing asset for a highly liquid, rapidly growing financial asset. ⬇️ To be clear, I am not anti-homeownership. Owning brings incredible psychological stability, emotional benefits, and a true sense of home. If you have the mindset to stay for 15+ years, it can absolutely pay off. But it is not the only way to build generational wealth. ⬇️ Renting is an amazing solution that significantly helps you save and invest. You can rent, invest the difference, and fund a very happy retirement. Don't let society pressure you into becoming house rich and cash poor. Run the opportunity cost for your own life.read more
I thought interest rates were headed to zero. I was wrong. I sold my holdings in BRT Realty today. They are a residential apartment REIT which is based in New York but most of its apartments are located in the South Eastern USA. As with most REITs, they have high borrowing costs as there is roughly a 4:1 debt to equity ratio, so their funds from operations will likely be impacted as interest rates go up. I bought them thinking interest rates will go down and reduce the impact of their debt on their cash flow.
"I will forever believe that buying a home is a great investment. Why? Because you can't live in a stock certificate. You can't live in a mutual fund" If someone wants to buy a home and mention it on this app then I will always tell that person to go for it
"The strongest homebuyers aren't just approved, they're prepared." I like this quote. If you are going through the process of getting your first home or thinking about it then Keep your paperwork organized, Keep your down payment in savings & Reduce high-interest balances for better buying power
Sentiment around the housing market is about as grim as it gets. Which has me wondering whether patiently building positions in the most beaten-down housing and lumber names could pay off in a couple of years. When nobody wants them, the upside runway is enormous. Am I early, or is anyone else buying the down cycle?
As a long term value investor, I rarely make trades but this was an arbitrage trade I couldn’t pass up. I had no intentions to sell $SGR-UN. It was one of my favourite holdings and I knew how valuable their properties were. So when they announced the dividend suspension that sent the stock tumbling, I was rushing to buy more shares. Why? Because this was a rare occurrence where we saw a complete disconnect between what these real estate holdings were worth and what the market was pricing them at. It was only a matter of time before someone out there with deep pockets swooped in with a buyout offer. And honestly, I didn’t expect it to happen this fast. What a day! Happy investing, @deepvaluesharkread more
🚨 BREAKING: HOUSING MARKET OPPORTUNITY FOR BUYERS! 🏡📉 Home sellers now outnumber buyers by a record 57.9%, according to Redfin’s August 2026 estimates. That’s a massive shift in negotiating power, and buyers should be paying attention! I’ve said it before: Too many buyers are sitting on the sidelines waiting for mortgage rates to drop, while overlooking the opportunity cost of waiting. This is the market where you negotiate the best possible purchase price, leverage seller concessions to buy down your mortgage rate when possible, and build equity over time. Remember, when rates fall and buyers flood back into the market, competition heats up, bidding wars return, and sellers regain leverage. You can potentially refinance your mortgage rate later, but you can’t renegotiate yesterday’s purchase price! My advice? Don’t wait for the perfect rate and miss a great buying opportunity. Negotiate aggressively, buy smart, and take advantage of today’s buyer-friendly conditions where they exist. Make sure the payment works for you today, even without refinancing. US10YR | Housing Market | Mortgage Rates #HousingMarket #RealEstate #MortgageRates #HomeBuying #WealthBuildingread more
