Your Home: Asset or Liability?

My parents have always advised me to buy a house first before any other capital investment as a house is the most valuable asset. However, I have read that a lot of people consider that owning a house is a liability instead of an asset, because when you own a house, you have to pay quite a substantial amount every year to pay the mortgage, land tax, maintenance, etc. It is cheaper if you rent a house rather than owning a house.

However, I found out that property in a good area is always increasing in value. It’s true that in the short term it is probably cheaper to rent, but we must also think about the long term. A good example are my own in-laws, they invested their money in something else and not in property. One day, they realized that the property prices have increased so much that even by selling all of their assets, it is not enough to buy them a decent house.

Probably I should ask Mr. Martin Sands.