I am currently facing an important decision for my life: I finished studies and will soon enter industry to work. Due to the fact that I will likely earn some money on a regular basis, I want to change my apartment situation and move to another district of my city (with my girlfriend).
The main question is: Should I buy or rent an apartment?
The prices for apartments which I would be interested in lie somewhere between €200k and €300k. Renting similar apartments would cost between €700 and €900 per month. Just on a side note: Of course (I tend to think this is typical behavior), people here say that the real-estate market is a farce and that pricese are much too high, and that it, therefore, doesn't make sense to buy an apartment. I am not sure, if this is just "usual complaining" or if they really have a point. I also don't know how to verify/falsify it.
My question would be: Which factors could help me to decide between renting/buying an apartment.
Of course, I already gave it some thought, and I am aware of the usual things like:
- Pro buying: If I have "safe" life circumstances (job, income, etc.) and do not plan to move to other cities/countries.
- Pro renting: I want to be more flexible, possibly changing jobs/cities.
I am also aware that answering this question probably needs some more detailed information on the local property market. Please let me know, if I should provide more detailed info.
I try to give some more context: Currently I tend to be pro buying, mainly due to the following argument. If I want to buy, I need to take a loan and will roughly have a rate of redemption of €900 per month. So to me, it doesn't matter if I use this money to pay a rent, or to repay my loan. Moreover, I read that the rent increases each year due to inflation. The redemption rate of my loan will stay untouched (so that's another Pro for taking a loan and buying). So after ~20-30 years (when the loan is repaid) it will pay off. I am not sure, if this argumentation is correct or if there are any pitfalls...
