1. The first thing a builder or realtor is likely to tell you is that real estate
prices never go down.
2. However,
real estate, like other asset classes, goes through periods of ups and downs.
3. The only difference is that it is not as volatile as, say, stocks or gold.
4. For young people, buying their own house is too tempting a thought.
5. However,
staying on rent may not always be a bad idea, for instance, if you have just started your career, you may not be sure where you
will settle down.
6. So,
instead of locking your funds in a house that you may not need immediately, you
could invest to build a corpus for buying it later.
7. Also,
remember that buying a house in a far-flung area may be cheap, but will come
with other costs, including long commutes to office, children’s school, weekend
shopping, social visits, etc.
8. As a
tenant, you can choose a better location from where it is easier to commute to
office and other destinations.
9. If you
are not planning to buy a house now, the best strategy is to be a pretend buyer
and save for your dream house.
10. If you keep putting away the EMI amount in a safe investment option, you will be able
to save for a higher down payment when you eventually take the plunge.