Is it better to invest in worldwide ETFs or to buy a property for rent? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago) by helen2345@lemmy.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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I’ve started investing in ETFs (S&P 500) but wonder if it would be better to buy a property instead and put it to rent.

I’m in my early 40s and I plan to regularly invest in this and similar worldwide ETFs in the next 25 years, as complement to my public pension.

A coworker told me he saved money to buy a house and put it to rent. He can always move in if he wants and it gives him a stable source of income per month. I don’t know how much.

I don’t know if investing in ETFs in wiser here: on one hand I want a quiet life and now I simply work and the money gets invested automatically once per month. I’ve never been a landlord and I wonder if the learning curve would be too steep. Furthermore, I don’t believe I want to be a landlord. Ain’t it too stressful?

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[-] bedwyr@piefed.ca 2 points 5 hours ago

That is horrible advice. Most landlords use management companies and don't do any work by the way. Those financial institutions are the devil and the reason rents are skyrocketing.

Investment groups and private equity have been buying up residential properties like crazy for like ten years and it's coincided with the meteoric rise in rents here. Gone are the days of 600 dollars a month, you are lucky to find 1,100/month now, which, and this is true, is more of a rise than in wages, or inflation, stated inflation, or the real inflation (which averages 5-8% historically but has been much higher these last years,) but since we don't use real inflation anymore but a several times over bastardized version to return lower numbers (from the 70's they changed it multiple times,) that's just for our reference.

this post was submitted on 13 Sep 2026

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