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"Historically..... so everyone believes this will continue forever" You know the same thing applies to stocks and shares. And in fact stocks and shares have ri

"Historically..... so everyone believes this will continue forever" You know the same thing applies to stocks and shares. And in fact stocks and shares have risen more historically [1] Shares also have liquidity, you can easily sell them in part or whole. You can diversify. One incident could easily destroy a house, if it destroys your well diversified stock investments you've probably got other problems. So agreed the stock market is the better investment, but as we can't see the future, both are based on past performance. Yes there are headwinds, there always are, I can think of many many reasons why stocks could fall, that doesn't really change what has happened historically though. Of course the beauty of investing is that if you disagree you can put your money where your mouth is :) [1] https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/052015/which-has-performed-better-historically-stock-market-or-real-estate.asp https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/052015/which-has-pe...

z3t4 8y ago
Just make sure you only invest using money you can spare. If you are saving use funds (many different stock to spread the risk) . If you invest in a single house , stock or boat, there's always a chance it will sink and you lose it all.
chii 8y ago
> the stock market is the better investment 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.
- kgwgk 8y ago
  The discussion is on the question “Should you buy a house and rent it out?”
- benj111 8y ago
  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.
- lizknope 8y ago
  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.
  - e12e 8y ago
    That sounds odd - a 10% increase in (invested) value over 16 years? Isn't that below inflation? (according to random site on the internet, it's a little below inflation: https://www.in2013dollars.com/2002-dollars-in-2018?amount=300000 https://www.in2013dollars.com/2002-dollars-in-2018?amount=30... )
    - sokoloff 8y ago
      You can't reasonably count things like lawn maintenance, carpet, water damage, wood rot, and broken appliances as part of the investment...
      - _ah 8y ago
        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.
        sokoloff 8y ago
        It’s part of the natural expenses of owning a house, but is not relevant to an anticipated inflation-based increase in value of the underlying asset.

z3t4 8y ago

Just make sure you only invest using money you can spare. If you are saving use funds (many different stock to spread the risk) . If you invest in a single house , stock or boat, there's always a chance it will sink and you lose it all.

chii 8y ago

> the stock market is the better investment 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.

kgwgk 8y ago
The discussion is on the question “Should you buy a house and rent it out?”
benj111 8y ago
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.
lizknope 8y ago
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.
- e12e 8y ago
  That sounds odd - a 10% increase in (invested) value over 16 years? Isn't that below inflation? (according to random site on the internet, it's a little below inflation: https://www.in2013dollars.com/2002-dollars-in-2018?amount=300000 https://www.in2013dollars.com/2002-dollars-in-2018?amount=30... )
  - sokoloff 8y ago
    You can't reasonably count things like lawn maintenance, carpet, water damage, wood rot, and broken appliances as part of the investment...
    - _ah 8y ago
      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.
      - sokoloff 8y ago
        It’s part of the natural expenses of owning a house, but is not relevant to an anticipated inflation-based increase in value of the underlying asset.