Example 1: I stay in House 1 for 5 years, it goes up in value by $250k, and I sell it, then I pay $0 tax. And I do the same for House 2 for 5 years, and it went up $250k and I sell it, then it is $0 tax.
Example 2: suppose I don't like to move often, and I don't want to pay the 6% commission to a realtor that often, and I stayed in House 1 for 10 years, then when I sell it, it went up $500k and I have to pay capital gain tax for the $250k, which can be $80k?
And if in example 1, it went up $300k for both houses, then I just pay capital gain tax on the first $50k and the second $50k. But if in example 2, it went up $600k, then I have to pay capital gain tax on the $350k.
Why is it that I "have to" move often and pay commission? Should I have the freedom to not move that often and pay the same amount of tax?