Nikhil Kamath on the great housing debate: Why he opted to buy over rent

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of Zerodha, gathered industry titans to discuss one of the most debated topics in personal finance: buying a home versus renting. Kamath was joined by Irfan Razack, Chairman & MD of Prestige Group, Nirupa Shankar, Executive Director at Brigade Group, and Karan Virwani, CEO of WeWork India. The discussion revealed key insights into the advantages and challenges of each option.

Kamath, who has long favored renting, shed light on the uncertainty that often comes with renting. “The thing with renting, of all the advantages of renting, there is one disadvantage: you don’t have foresight as to when you can move out of the house. I had to move out of this house, whereas I might have liked to stay longer in this house,” he said. Kamath explained that the inconvenience of having to move often sways people toward buying their own homes.

Financial Security and Ownership: A Question of Balance

Nirupa Shankar took the opportunity to question whether owning a home doesn’t inherently add to a person’s financial strength. She posed the question to Kamath and the other guests: “Don’t you think buying a home adds to the financial strength, security, and balance sheet of an individual?”

Kamath, in his response, expressed his preference for other investment avenues like gold, which he believed could offer similar financial security without the illiquidity tied to real estate. “I feel like something like gold can give that to me. I hate the illiquid nature of real estate,” he said.

Real Estate’s Liquidity