Robert Shiller Destroys The Idea Of Investing In A Home

[Bateman]

Even if you are convinced that house prices will fall from their present levels, then wait until you are happy with the price

I think what makes a person's home different to other investments is that he or she is buying a home rather than an asset. It's almost an asset by default, so you can't apply the same rules or logic that you would to an equity investment. If I buy a family home, what's it'll be worth in 30 years time hardly crosses my mind. If I make an equity investment, what it'll be worth in the long term is foremost in my mind. By treating your home purely as an asset, you may miss out on the important things in life.

 

[mandelbrot]

One thing people need to think about is the fact that going forward Euroland budgets and economic policy will converge and in general the other Euroland countries do not support home ownership Irish style - so how that is going to pan out going forward is open...

I fail to see the logic in this TBH. There is no sign of anything on this front changing in the short or even medium term, so you want people to make decisions based on a long term view that may or may not transpire. Sure in 20 years we might all be kowtowing and speaking Chinese Jim, so does that make foolish for not "investing" in lessons in Mandarin?