In the monetary sense the the farm productivity may equate into growing more of something you can later on sell. In the case of the house, it equates to gaining

In the monetary sense the the farm productivity may equate into growing more of something you can later on sell. In the case of the house, it equates to gaining an asset (or at least equity in an asset) that you can later on sell, also. But in a more abstract sense it's not all about money - it's about getting around roadblocks, for a cost. For example, being productive can include things like getting stuff done that you've been neglecting. Maybe a person bought a house to have space to practice yoga at home or something like that. They're knocking out things they've wanted to do but couldn't before. Also maybe increasing the demand of housing in your community by buying a house makes the local construction industry more productive.