buying a house to live is not an investment, and i should think that people ought not to treat it as such. Buying a house gives you stability and security for shelter. It's quite possible that renting is cheaper, but you also can't do certain things while renting - such as small renovations (some places don't even let you nail a painting on to the wall).
Investments in real estate is a different ballgame to buying your home.
I bought my house for $263K in 2002. It is currently worth around $330K. In that time I have spent about $40K on repairs (not true upgrades) for 2 new HVAC units, new roof, carpet, water damage, broken appliances, wood rot, lawn seed/fertilizer.
I'm happier living in a house than an apartment but my house is a place to live, and an item of value, but not an investment I expect to make profit from.
Sure you can. If you were renting it out instead of living in it, all those costs would have to be paid on behalf of the tennents. It's part of the cost of doing business. So whether you rent or buy for yourself, it's all part of the investment calculation.
I thought we were talking about rental properties?
That said, buying a house is basically buying an index linked annuity that covers your rent on a property you have to maintain. So it is an investment, albeit one tied up with a lot of other baggage.
buying a house to live is not an investment, and i should think that people ought not to treat it as such. Buying a house gives you stability and security for shelter. It's quite possible that renting is cheaper, but you also can't do certain things while renting - such as small renovations (some places don't even let you nail a painting on to the wall).
Investments in real estate is a different ballgame to buying your home.