And now, time for a counterpoint. I’ll be blunt: The real estate agent slash landlord turned YouTube personality Graham Stephan is not my cup of tea. For instance, his podcast “The Iced Coffee Hour” feeds into the myth of avocado toast being the downfall of millennials (which I challenge here). Plus, he’s a landlord. Not for me!
But given his 4.4 million YouTube subscribers, it’s worth hearing why his points of view are so popular. Ignoring the clickbait-y, inflammatory title of this video, here are the main points worth considering:
Right now, rent is increasing for a number of reasons. Fewer affordable units are on the market. There’s more demand for rentals, with even wealthy households opting to rent instead of buy. On top of this, landlord expenses are also increasing. All in all, home prices are getting more expensive too.
Despite the clickbait title of this video, Stephan ends with a good point: If you’re a tenant, educate yourself as much as possible on the market right now so you have more negotiating power with your landlord.