[carlosjobim]

You are totally comparing apples to oranges. Rent is never lower than a mortgage, not in any single place in the US or in the world. For the same unit.

What is the rent for a 1500 sqft apartment compared to the mortgage for a 1500 sqft apartment? The rent is always higher.

What is the rent for a 1500 sqft house compared to the mortgage for a 1500 sqft house? The rent is always higher.

[blackjack_]

This is not true, because of timing, and mortgages with lower interest rates versus the current interest rate.

If I bought a house in the year 2000 for 200k, and still own it now, I might rent it out for $1200 per month (after refinancing in 2020 for a 2.8% loan on 50k or whatever is left on the mortgage), and still make a gross profit.

If the house were to be sold and purchased now in 2025, it may be valued at $600k or more. The mortgage on this house with 20% down would be like 3500 or 4000 per month after taxes and insurance.

So there is a huge plausible gap between renting and owning a property.

If you are arguing versus some potential mortgage in the past… sure. But you don’t get the mortgage of the past value, you get the mortgage of the current value with the current interest rates.

[foxglacier]

https://homes.co.nz/address/auckland/mangere-east/16-fleming...

Estimated rent: $600/week Estimated mortgage repayment: $1000/week

If you get a 30 year mortgage, more than $600 of that will be interest near the start.

I didn't cherry pick this. I just clicked randomly on a big city until I found one with both estimates available.

[carlosjobim]

That's an estimate from a third party with nothing to say on the matter. Now show me a real offer, where the rent is less than the mortgage for the same unit.

[foxglacier]

No. Too much hard work for something that's going to give the obvious result.

You show me your source of information saying that it's never the case.

[const_cast]

Right, I'm just telling you that's that's simply not true.

And, if you really want to compare apples to apples, you have to compare properties in the same area. Its easy to make housing look cheap when you compare upper Manhattan to New Jersey.

Suddenly that 4,000 dollar apartment looks pretty competitive when the alternative is 5 million mortgage + 3000 a month HOA.

[carlosjobim]

How do I get my point through? You can not compare houses to apartments. You can not compare between different regions. You have to compare the exact same unit, the exact same property. Why are you trying to shuffle the cards? Rent is always higher than a mortgage for the same unit.

[const_cast]

You can't get anything through because you're simply incorrect.

No, housing is not always cheaper, feel free to do some research. Its highly dependent on your city.

If you truly think buying is cheaper in Manhattan then I don't know what to tell you. You're just wrong, period.

What's happening here is youre comparing suboptimal housing to THE ABSOLUTE most expensive apartments you can find.

My parents do the same thing. "Oh housing is so much cheaper, imagine renting in Dallas!"

But... We're an hour and a half outside of the city.

The reason the housing is cheap is because nobody wants it.