# Home Ownership as an Investment **URL:** \ **Category:** Finance/Investments\ **Created:** [March 28, 2024, 8:30pm UTC](https://community.goactuary.com/t/home-ownership-as-an-investment/9168 "2024-03-28T20:30:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![The\_Polymath](https://community.goactuary.com/user_avatar/community.goactuary.com/the_polymath/32/83081_2.png) [@The\_Polymath](https://community.goactuary.com/u/The_Polymath)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2025, 2:16pm UTC](https://community.goactuary.com/t/home-ownership-as-an-investment/9168/332 "2025-03-14T14:16:48Z")
Same. Would be millions over here. ---
**Author:** ![dr\_t\_non-fan](https://community.goactuary.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@dr\_t\_non-fan](https://community.goactuary.com/u/dr_t_non-fan)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 12:01am UTC](https://community.goactuary.com/t/home-ownership-as-an-investment/9168/333 "2025-03-15T00:01:41Z")
> [@Papasmurf](#): > > You guys get 5 BR houses for 500k?? Damn. There are some places in the USA in which few people want to live, or at least to move. There are many reasons why, but it is mainly the quality of life that differs from the moving folks ---
**Author:** ![ArthurItas](https://community.goactuary.com/user_avatar/community.goactuary.com/arthuritas/32/63_2.png) [@ArthurItas](https://community.goactuary.com/u/ArthurItas)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 1:08am UTC](https://community.goactuary.com/t/home-ownership-as-an-investment/9168/334 "2025-03-15T01:08:06Z")
Yes, as always location is everything in real estate. You can still buy a 5BR house under 500k in my city, but you might not want to live there. Just did a quick search. This one looks reasonably nice, and you get 3 acres. Schools would be questionable. Have to deal with a pool that needs rehab too. [https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1675-Dodson-Dr-SW-Atlanta-GA-30311/35862404\_zpid/](https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1675-Dodson-Dr-SW-Atlanta-GA-30311/35862404_zpid/) The first house I bought was in a blighted neighborhood, but on the way up. It was one of my better financial decisions. ---
**Author:** ![Ted\_Hoffman](https://community.goactuary.com/user_avatar/community.goactuary.com/ted_hoffman/32/83127_2.png) [@Ted\_Hoffman](https://community.goactuary.com/u/Ted_Hoffman)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2025, 9:32pm UTC](https://community.goactuary.com/t/home-ownership-as-an-investment/9168/335 "2025-03-28T21:32:02Z")
Update: apparently there was going to be an open house, but now it’s off. _Maybe she’s got an accepted offer._ If that was the case, you’d expect to see a sign above the realtor’s sign, ACCEPTED OFFER - but no, it says OPEN HOUSE CANCELLED. Plus, in case the accepted offer falls through, you’d want others to visit and perhaps put in an offer so they’re next up. _Maybe she’s got an offer she’s considering._ You’d still go through with the open house, in case the offer falls through. _Maybe the realtor is busy / double booked._ If that was the case, you’d expect another realtor to cover the open house. _Maybe she wasn’t ready for an open house._ She’s had at least 4 people look at it, if it wasn’t ready for an open house it wouldn’t have been available for showings. _Maybe she needs the house this weekend._ She’s largely not staying there, not sure what’s suddenly going on that she needs the entire house when it’s always been just her and her dog. My suspicion - and I think we’ll know very soon - is that someone in a showing noticed stuff wrong and pointed it out, and now she has to get repairs made. Which, just looking at what I see from my side of the house, there’s likely other issues - starting with, “birds and squirrels were going in and out of her attic through a hole in the soffit for at least the last 2 years.” ---
**Author:** ![EimonGnome](https://community.goactuary.com/user_avatar/community.goactuary.com/eimongnome/32/7572_2.png) [@EimonGnome](https://community.goactuary.com/u/EimonGnome)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 6:43am UTC](https://community.goactuary.com/t/home-ownership-as-an-investment/9168/336 "2025-07-03T06:43:34Z")
2 random observations, on a very relevant topic. First, it’s worth noting that the neutral position on housing is to have one. This is weird, since the neutral position on most assets is zero. Neutral stock? Zero. Neutral bonds? Zero. Neutral gold? Zero. But housing is one. Complicates any comparison wrt returns. Second, if home ownership is a dominant strategy over stocks or bonds, then presumably those that feel this way will buy a second house anytime they can come up with the down payment, rather than having the capital invested in underperforming assets. Is that that truly the plan? Or are we struggling with how to deal with my first point? And lastly, any attempt to monetize happiness is a fool’s errand. Ownership in a place you enjoy and take pride in is a really good thing. Being happy, in the one life you may have, is hard to put a $ figure on. ---
**Author:** ![Vorian\_Atreides](https://community.goactuary.com/user_avatar/community.goactuary.com/vorian_atreides/32/65623_2.png) [@Vorian\_Atreides](https://community.goactuary.com/u/Vorian_Atreides)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 12:20pm UTC](https://community.goactuary.com/t/home-ownership-as-an-investment/9168/337 "2025-07-03T12:20:15Z")
> [@EimonGnome](#): > > This is weird, since the neutral position on most assets is zero. I think one key aspect of “home ownership” is that you have a “readily consumable” item that you’d need anyway (i.e., you have shelter secured). All other assets that are generally considered are useful in and of themselves . . . they have to be exchanged (some work involved) to acquire something that you need (or want). I think land ownership is very similar to the extent that the land is arable. You need food and having arable land provides an assurance that you can “take care of it”. As to the point about owning a second house . . . I’m not sure that it’d fit into the same category as having just one house. The offset of care & maintenance for something that isn’t utilized all the time can reduce it’s “neutral” position utility. Put another way, my view on the neutral position for a second home would be closer to zero than one (but will admit that it would be higher than other assets to be considered. ---
**Author:** ![YankeeTripper](https://community.goactuary.com/user_avatar/community.goactuary.com/yankeetripper/32/946_2.png) [@YankeeTripper](https://community.goactuary.com/u/YankeeTripper)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 1:18pm UTC](https://community.goactuary.com/t/home-ownership-as-an-investment/9168/338 "2025-08-08T13:18:50Z")
The neutral position is you need somewhere to live. Housing prices generally go up, rents generally go up, mortgages payments generally stay the same. The neutral position is you don’t need two places to live. [Previous page](https://community.goactuary.com/t/home-ownership-as-an-investment/9168.md?page=16)