Buying a home vs. Renting: Which is better?

Buying your home is one of the biggest financial decisions of your life. However, it is a big commitment and there are a lot of hidden costs and factors that can make it unaffordable for some. Because of the costliness of buying a home outright, many buyers turn to renting instead, especially in expensive housing markets like London, New York, and Hong Kong. Determining which option is best for you depends on a variety of factors, and not everyone’s situation is alike. To help with this important decision, let’s take a look at some of the key differences between buying and renting.

Buying

When buying a house, it’s likely you’ll need to apply for a mortgage. To get a mortgage, you need a deposit (usually at least 10% of the home’s value) and a steady income in order to make repayments. The greater your deposit and income, the more your bank or lender will be able to offer you. However, if you live in an expensive area, or have a low salary and little savings, buying may not be for …

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5 Features that make a profitable Rental Property

Investing in a residential rental property can be a great and profitable way to boost your investment portfolio. However, real estate is a tough business. For this reason, it’s important to do detailed research on the pros and cons of real estate investing before buying your first property.

It is important to start your search for property before bringing an agent into the picture, as they may pressure you to an investment that is not best suited for you. During this preliminary research, you’ll want to narrow down several key characteristics you are looking for in your property, such as size, location and amenities. In this article, we will discuss 5 key features to look for to ensure that your real estate investment is a profitable one.

1. Know Your Neighborhood

The location of your property is one of the most important things to consider. Knowing which type of neighborhood you are investing in will determine the type of tenants you will attract, as well as your vacancy rates. For example, if your property is near a university, then you …

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Property Market in Wuppertal, Germany

About the City:

Wuppertal is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in the west part of Germany. There’s a population of about 350.000, and the name Wuppertal comes from the river ”Wupper” which flows through the city. Some key characteristics of the town include the suspension railway, ‘’Schwebebahn’’, the university and the Pina Bausch dance theater. The Schwebebahn is one of the defining features in Wuppertal, due to the fact that the train is actually upside-down.

Areas in Wuppertal, Germany

As in all other countries, the market in Wuppertal is divided into rental properties and properties to buy. Wuppertal is also divided into 6 different sectors, which have a strong influence on rental and purchase prices. Barmen, Elberfeld, Vohwinkel, Cronenberg, Ronsdorf and Beyenburg all have different prices for various types of properties. 

Prices for renting and buying

The cheapest area to buy and rent in Wuppertal is Elberfeld and the highest prices are found in Cronenberg. The prices generally start at 6.01 EUR/m² and goes up to 8.36 EUR/m².

For buying a house in Wuppertal, expect to pay 2.442,05 EUR/m² at …

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Mm Capital propose building university dorm copycat in Dublin 1

With housing options becoming more and more difficult to secure for an affordable price in Dublin, many people wonder when the ever-expanding city will reach maximum capacity. With the thought of growth being stagnated by the availability of homes or apartments at a reasonable price point on the brain, Mm Capital began looking for answers. 

In partnership with international shared residential operator SQRE Living, Mm Capital composed and submitted a building proposal that would allow them to build a 132-bed co-living development on a 5000 square meter plot. This residential building would be located at 39-42 Hill Street in Dublin 1. 

Although this sounds to be an outrageous propositions, students all across Europe and the United States live in these type of conditions for 2-4 years of their lives while attending university. Many of the dorms strewn across campuses can house hundreds of students easily and effectively. 

This real estate investment and development firm has also mentioned many different styles of living that would be available. Around 75pc of the 132 rooms would be 19 square meters, while the other …

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Cuckoo Funds Shifting Buyers towards Renting

Long-term pension funds are at risk with the aging population and increases in the rental market. The aging population is going to dry up pension funds because there will not be enough younger people to payoff older generations pension funds. Additionally, the expanding rental market will cause long-term retirees having trouble sustaining a comfortable lifestyle. Renting can be a great solution in the short term if someone is young, temporary, etc. However, not owning a home and having your mortgage paid off when you reach retirement ages can cause a lot of stress.

Cuckoo funds are contributing to this problem by spending approximately €2 billion on buying thousands of apartments and still have about €6 billion left to invest in the housing market according to global real estate advisor CBRE. Many consider Dublin to be one of Europe’s top markets for large, global funds to invest in.

There has been a dramatic shift from investing in Ireland’s commercial to residential property. In the first half of 2019, about 40% of commercial property investment is now being used for the residential …

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Inflation Rates Return to Normal

 

The current housing prices in Dublin have been talked about extensively recently. The newest trend shows that housing prices have reached peak affordability and now some of the wealthy classes of people are having trouble affording homes. Current house prices in Dublin are more than nine times the average salary making them unattainable for the majority of people because mortgages can only be 3.5 times your salary. Additionally, these numbers have not been seen since the Celtic Tiger Era, however, the central bank has been more careful this time and increased borrowing rules unlike during the Celtic Tiger Era. Prices are now beginning to slow down because simply nobody is able to afford them.

Inflation has also cooled off recently with a decrease from 12.4% last May to 2.8% a year later. Dublin has seen a significantly smaller inflation rate with an increase of prices from the current year to May of .6%.

The region of Dublin had the highest median price of 366,000 Euros which is just over 9 times more than its average salary of 40,000 Euros. …

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Renting vs. Buying

A current issue revolving around Irish news is whether to increase the supply of rental or property ownership. It is well known that there is a shortage in properties available, but just trying to produce as many properties as possible is not the solution. Careful review of the issue needs to take place by the government and necessary legislation would follow. Some factors to consider include; land zoning, shared ownership purchase models, tax breaks for EU nationals arriving for construction work, reduced CGT for empty sites, tax reduction for citizens downsizing, and help-to-buy schemes.

First time home buyers are having trouble purchasing homes due to the increasing purchase prices. It is universally agreed upon that more properties need to be available. According to an independent article, 2500 houses that were built in the first three months have not been sold yet. In addition, this is driving up decisions. That coupled with difficult mortgage banking is challenging middle- and lower-class citizens to find accommodation. These statements emphasize the lack of availability and ease for purchasing affordable housing.

Build-to-rent schemes have the …

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Regular wages and purchasing homes

In the current market, there is an increasing want and need for housing in Ireland, especially in populated cities such as Dublin. With this increasing demand, prices of homes and rent are rising each year. One problem that many soon-to-be or want-to-be home owners face now is the inability to effectively save for a home when they are paying high rent fees month after month.

The Central Statistics Office of Ireland notes that the average full time worker made around €45,611, while an average part time worker made around €16,600. Using surveys on these two numbers, we can say that the average worker in Dublin makes around €37,000 per year.

These numbers seem to allow a single person to be able to obtain a mortgage and afford a home, but if you were to add into the equation any additional expenses, such as children, rent or transportation, there would be a significant amount of money deducted from those average numbers.

The national average rent in Ireland is €1,122 per month. If you are interesting in living in Dublin, …

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Analyzing rental yields – what this means for investors and renters

An article was published by Fiona Reddan on the Irish Times early this morning examining and evaluating property investment options in and around Dublin today. The article uses the measure of rental yields, how much rental income a property generates as a percentage of its market value, to compare the worthiness of investment options.

 

The major finding in the article was a negative correlation between housing prices and rental yields, meaning that, in Ireland, higher priced properties generate lower investment yields on average. The worst places to invest includes areas such as Dublin 6, Dublin 4, and Dublin 14, where average sale prices are well above €500,000. The best places to invest includes Dublin 10 and Dublin 2, where the average market value of property is much lower. In Dublin 6 for example, the average sale price is €706,741, while rental yields are only 3.6%. On the other hand, in Dublin 10, the average sale price is €173,478, but the annual rental yield is 10.4%.

 

These …

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