Canada

Homes aren’t a commodity, they’re a depreciating asset. Land is what has real value in our society, and this is a cultural development dating back to Enclosure in the Middle Ages. We realized back then that if you don’t own your own land then you are effectively a slave paying rent to someone else for the privilege of having a roof over your head.

I’ve seen other solutions proposed around here, such as government ownership of housing where we all pay rent to the government. What I don’t get is how people can say that with a guy like Trump in power. Do you want Trump to be your landlord? That sounds horrible!

I haven't seen stats showing businesses own a large amount of single family dwellings or apartments in Canada. Individuals seem to own a lot of condos for investment (with businesses owning a bit less).

Do you have stats showing corporations owning a significant portion of Canadian real estate?

Reminds of the people worrying about their car "losing its value". It's a car. It's a utility. I will use it until it falls apart. That's It's value.

The run up on housing prices forces most Canadians to put too much cash into rent or home ownership. I think the piece is more pointing out there's a problem. The fix has to come from policy makers, not individual buyers.

Which is why I like the Japanese home loses value over time approach.

If they are done boosting it, you know the housing crash/long winter is incoming.

You need shelter. You can pay money and have nothing at the end, or you can put it into equity.

I generally agree, a home should not be primarily thought of as an investment.

It's a roof over your head that you have more control over than if you were living in a rental.

And after a period of time, you actually own it and no longer have to keep paying someone else for the privilege of having a place to live.

Owning a home is the best investment you’ll make in your life.

Sure grandpa, let’s take you to bed

90+% of people in China own their own homes, and a lot of that is apartments. Not treating housing as a financial instrument doesn't mean "everyone rents"

We need shelter, but our governments have stopped ensuring it's attainable.

Tax policy encourages people to treat their home as an investment by exempting it from capital gains. Other tax policy has made the construction of rental units less attractive to developers. Our federal, provincial, and municipal governments stopped building affordable and low income housing. (There's also the zoning/NIMBY crap, but that's been discussed to death)