The debate over which approach to securing a home – renting or owning – is more fiscally beneficial has dragged on for years. A recent article, however, suggested that the true “American Dream” may be realized by renting apartments in New Jersey and nationwide.
According to James Altucher of Formula Capital in an article published by www.yahoo.com, the “American Dream” of home ownership is nothing but a “scam.”
Altucher stated that owning a home has “never been a great investment.” Per the article, “Housing went up a dismal 0.4% annually vs. 8% for the stock market from 1890 to 2004,” (“Home Economics: The ‘American Dream’ is a ‘Scam’…”).
The article further quoted Altucher as proposing that “the notion buying a home is a ticket to financial security is a ‘scam’ perpetrated on the American people by corporations seeking to keep us in debt, less mobile and with the storage to purchase all sorts of needless consumer goods.”
It is an interesting theory in light of the housing crisis most American homeowners are currently battling. As foreclosure and unemployment rates continue to move toward frightening levels, renting apartments in New Jersey seems to be an appealing option.
Owning a home clearly offers both measurable and immeasurable benefits. Despite recently declining home values, countless individuals have profited from ownership. Many of these homeowners have also taken advantage of substantial annual tax deductions from mortgage interest.
There is, of course, also the benefit of raising a family in a stable, community-oriented situation. Then again, one might have a difficult time convincing the thousands of homeowners whose mortgages are under water that such stability is worth the risk of economic volatility.
Nonetheless, renters of apartments in New Jersey hold most of the cards right now. Not only do renters have the freedom to move wherever and whenever they want, but they are also maneuvering in a market currently facing record vacancy rates.
Renegotiating rents is commonplace and some property managers have even resorted to providing perks in an effort to keep tenants.
The bottom line is renters are at long last in power. While homeowners have been celebrated as stable and forward thinking, plummeting real estate values have changed the game.
Altucher, in fact, confirmed that most of the American public would be better off renting than “concentrating so much of your wealth in a potentially illiquid asset,” (“Home Economics: The ‘American Dream’ is a ‘Scam’…”).
