Is Your Home an Investment or an Asset?

Is your home an investment or an asset? Some people would say both, but the Government of Canada describes an investment as having the following 3 qualities:

Income,

Risk and,

Liquidity,

Home ownership does not provide income (unless you rent out part of your home) it carries risk in terms of maintenance and upgrades and it’s not very liquid. Selling your home for full retail value takes several months to complete.

According to some, an asset on the other hand has the following attributes:

It has a long life,

It has utility, that is it does something for you and

Its value can be depreciated over time,

Based on these criteria your home, is an asset not an investment.

For most people, owning a home is better than renting because you have long term control. If you rent, you can be forced to move out at the end of the lease. And your rent can go up every 12 months.

As a homeowner you can make changes to your home to suit your tastes and lifestyle.

As a homeowner you can pay down the mortgage over time and create equity.

And over the mid to long term, home prices trend up because of economic and inflationary pressures, housing scarcity and periodic exuberance from buyers etc.

So, what’s the underlying message here?

When you sell your home, you might get more than it cost. Or you might sell it for less.

Primarily you should you buy your home for a higher quality of life, a sense of certainty, security and daily enjoyment.

To shop for ALL homes in the metro Edmonton area please go to our website www.AmbergateHomes.ca.

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