Housing

Investing in a property can be exciting, but taking the time to properly analyze your deal is paramount. In some cases, what may seem like a good deal at first glance may actually cause financial pitfalls long-term. Similarly, when comparing two or more possible investment opportunities, one property may seem to offer a great investment up front, while the other actually offers the best return over time. In order to uncover the best possible investment deals, commit the following real estate investing calculations to memory:

Global housing prices rose an average of 6% annually, between Q4 2021 and Q4 2022. but, in real terms that take inflation into account, prices actually fell 2% for the first decline in 12 years. In today's graphic, we show the change in residential property prices with data from the Bank for International Settlements.

The Gold/Silver Ratio has been rising along with the strength of the US dollar.

Today’s chart uses data from Reventure Consulting to highlight the cost of buying vs. renting a single-family residence in the U.S. since 1970, adjusted for inflation.

Interest rates are rising to cool inflation and remove home buyer stimulus kicking off a global real estate correction.

Global home prices are rising, but not to the same extent everywhere. Canada and Germany’s home prices made much sharper gains than other G7 countries

“Home ownership” is regarded as some sort of Holy Grail of financial planning based upon the conventional belief that owning real estate is the #1 path to (at least) financial security, if not affluence, but there is no substance to this belief. Here's why.

With deficits growing wider each year, we believe there is a very high likelihood that the price of gold will rise in the next few years.

“Buy as much house as you can,” real estate agents urged clients. “The more you buy, the bigger your tax break” is their advice using the mortgage interest deduction (MID) to explicitly promote over-investment in housing. Unfortunately, such advice fueled the previous housing boom and exacerbated its bust and could do so again.

Most people seem to think owning a house is a great “investment” but, in actual fact, when you look at the numbers closely, such an acquisition is anything but. Let me explain with supporting evidence.