Maat55,
The first home I purchased was a condo in an up and coming area in Brookline. The reason I purchased it was solely as an investment. Now I happened to roll all the profits into my next house purchase.
When I profit and trade stocks, I usually rotate my money into other stocks that have higher return potentials.
And I do believe that people look at a house as an investment 2 times during their lives (if not more). 1) If they are looking at a starter house and plan on using it to get into a larger house in the future 2) in retirement when people are looking to downsize and fund their lifestyles.
In the last 5 years, people have been taking equity out of there house in the form of loans. But I do agree that people buy too much house and usually do not think about the entire financing angle.
But I do look at my house as a long term investment. After I retire in another 35-40 years, I will probably sell it and down size and use the rest of the proceeds for retirement. Like any investment, I do expect the value to grow and I do plan to realize that gain. I also look at it as an asset that I could sell or borrow against if I ever needed to.
I am just trying to make the point that you can look at a house as an investment or asset like any other investment. The major difference is that a lot more emotions and feelings are caught up in a house.
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