I recorded an interview with KIRO news radio yesterday that might be of some interest. The days of buying a house for profit may be gone
An excerpt:
If you’re looking for an investment, consider stocks and bonds, coins or comic books. The days of buying a house for big profit might be gone forever.
Some experts think the housing bubble might have burst for good.
“Personally I think that’s kind of a good thing. I think that’s what we need to get back to, because this whole mindset of personal residences as a way to build wealth and to get really rich, I think has been really counter to the notion of affordable housing and people being able to get into the real estate market,” says Tim Ellis, from real estate blog SeattleBubble.com.
Meanwhile, Zillow’s “Chief Economist” Stan Humphries was on NPR’s Talk of the Nation yesterday saying basically the same thing: Era Of Homes As Piggy Banks May Be Over
Host: So, as opposed to the biggest and most important investment for the family, maybe houses should be regarded as something like a giant car? Something that is a durable good, that eventually you use up.
Humphries: That’s right. I don’t think that’s a bad analogy. Essentially housing is a utility that you consume like electricity. We consume housing as a utility. It’s a shelter for us.
It’s interesting how dramatically Zillow seems to have changed from the place people go to revel in their booming equity to one of the most prominent voices for a prolonged, flat bottom in home prices.
What about your social circle? Are your friends and family still believers in the “your home is your best investment” cliche, or has the bursting bubble dispelled the notion that housing always appreciates?