Right, I totally get this, but it doesn’t change the fact that getting a ~3% yield on RE (maybe, and there are so many things that can go wrong with rentals) is worse than getting a 5-7% yield on Treasuries. Of course, if they don’t trust the Treasury market, then RE is a better bet.
Buying rentals is a good bet when prices are low and interest rates are “normal” or high. I don’t think it will be a good investment for those who are buying high.[/quote]
Another thing to factor is even if you are getting 3%, a lot of times there’s still a loan so it’s a leveraged bet. Leverage, of course, cuts both ways but if the real estate market isn’t a crazy bubble, then getting a 3% return to match inflation for someone with 20% down is more like a 15% return (I think)…
As others have mentioned, there is just more “trust” from what I’ve seen with real estate as an asset than stocks and bonds which a lot of Asians feel is an unfair and manipulated game. With real estate, you get depreciation against a decent income to also keep that W-2 lower and I’ve seen parents put their kids on the deed/loan to let them depreciate against their taxes as well and get a tax write of for rental properties…There is just a certain level of sharing which I didn’t see in many Caucasian families (kicked out at 18, self fund college, etc…)
