When providing information that many people can use to make a serious decision in their lives we need to be careful. I understand that the real estate crash of 2008 made many of us rethink about real estate as a whole. But when we are talking to the population as a whole we need to think twice. Everyone is free to their own opinion. I believe your home is an investment, an important one because for most Americans, it usually become a significant segment of their wealth at retirement. That is why my position is yes your home is an investment.
Like everything in life, it’s never that simple. If you know about investments you know in most cases every investment is a long term investment. Safe investment in the stock market relies on the long run. Even investing in a small business, it will take many years before that small business will have significant value.
If you have a stock portfolio you need to keep track of it. Some might even tell you to sell some poor performing stocks from it, and buy better-performing stocks over the years of the life of the portfolio. Small business owners at times have to inflict cash in their business to keep it going. In the same manner, your home will require some additional expenses to keep it in good shape over many years.
In this post I list many claims by writers and bloggers that your home is not a good investment. Most of these writers are not telling you not to buy a house. They are just selecting a few scenarios to make a General statement that might not be useful for a lot of people. Many times writer and bloggers tend to use headlines that will attract people even if they don’t completely support the idea.
I am creating this list to make sure that you are aware of these claims. To make sure that they do not distract you.
1.Jeremy Vohwinkle
2.Jonathan Clements
3.Morgan Housel
The Motley fool Via USAToday
4.jLcollinsnh
5.Brian Lund
6.Jeff Brown
7.Eric Ravenscraft
8.Selena Maranjian
9.Lou Carlozo
10.Jonathan Clements
U.S census Bureau
We learn via fool.com that the Us census Bureau claims that for the average American at age 65, without home equity, their net worth is $43,921, but with home equity it is $194,226. This is a massive difference. That is why I advocate that people should buy a home early in their working years. It takes time to build equity so the earlier you start the better.
In Conclusion
I believe your primary home is your most important investment. Your stock portfolio is in the hands of strangers. your home is under your own responsibility. You can not live in your stock portfolio. Comparing your home to your stock portfolio makes no sense. For most Americans more now than ever your home equity will be an important part of your net worth at retirement.
These claims are misguided. For most families the equity in their home accounts for a major part of their wealth at retirement. Do not give up on the largest portion of your future net worth. Treat your home like a long term investment.