Should you Rent or Own a Luxury Condo in Calgary?

Renting or owning anything can be a very hard decision to make. However, when it comes to renting or owning a luxury condo in Calgary the decision can be quite clear.

The Disadvantages of Owning

In most situations it would be more advantageous to own instead of renting, but in the case of luxury condos in Calgary, it doesn’t make sense. After you pay your down payment and your monthly mortgage, you still have other expenses such as your condo fees and your property taxes. Those fees will usually put you over the cost of renting in Calgary, which is generally around $5,000 a month.

You might think that it’s not really a big deal that rent is less than your mortgage because you own it and the money is going towards paying off your condo. However, if you consider that the housing market can be unstable, especially for luxury condos, you could find yourself in a situation that doesn’t make sense financially should you choose to sell it.

The main problem is overbuilding. The market becomes oversaturated and then you have a problem with too much supply and not enough demand. Also, the housing market is always susceptible to crashing.

The Benefits of Renting

So, if you don’t want to risk having a bad investment, it may be better to rent a luxury condo in Calgary. Some of the other benefits to renting instead of owning, are that you don’t have to worry about condo fees (they are usually built into the cost of rent), you aren’t responsible for items breaking down, and best of all if you need to move you don’t have to worry about selling the condo in a potentially bad market.

So considering all the factors involved and that renting is much less stressful, it makes more sense in most situations to rent a luxury condo in Calgary.