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If real estate is to be a good investment, it must become less affordable over time. The idea that real estate in general is a good investment is dangerous to o

• saiya-jin 4y ago
  Yes if everybody should live in their own real estate. There are superbly working economies where this is not true for many decades for various reasons (ie Switzerland) and they do just fine and people are happy, just focus on more important matters in life. There are many arguments against urban sprawl which is direct consequence of such approach.
  • nxm 4y ago
    Not a fan of comparisons of other countries to one of the most wealthy per capita, homogenous one. Switzerland is an exception and not a rule
    • formerkrogemp 4y ago
      Take your pick from other European countries. Asian countries have much, much higher population density than the US. Is their standard of living as high in many of those countries? No? Do they enjoy reserve currency status? No. Do they make it work anyways? Yes. Could we learn many useful ways of living and building and structuring our businesses, lives, and economy? Yes! I'm tired of the snide dismissals that we Americans make to any comparison between our country and others. Oh, well, our country is special and exceptional, heterogeneous and large, so we have nothing to learn and cannot possibly change things here. Even if you arrogantly assume America is the best at everything and leads the world in so many ways, much can still be learned from the way others live their lives and structure their homes, businesses, and societies. You can compare apples to oranges. They're both fruit! Biologists compare species all the time to learn more about the species and to better ourselves with that knowledge. We can learn about and from other countries and peoples while disclaiming some of the differences. At the very least we can acknowledge that it works elsewhere and that what they do could be done here in at least a limited fashion or successful manner. Even if we're red apple fruits and they're bloody oranges, they're both fruit and both countries.
  • pzone 4y ago
    Removing supply side restrictions can lead to densification instead of sprawl. It just needs to be paired with smart transit policy.
• s1artibartfast 4y ago
  >If real estate is to be a good investment, it must become less affordable over time. False. Value can increase if gdp increases without changing the %income spent on housing. If house prices double while salaries double, affordability is the same but dollar value still went up.
  • robjan 4y ago
    In that scenario the value is going up relative to the currency the property was purchased in but that's because the value of the currency is diminished.
    • s1artibartfast 4y ago
      not necessary. You can have income growth without inflation. Any time income growth is higher than inflation, you can buy more goods with your income This is why people can buy more goods and services in 2022 than in 1 AD. If income growth always lead to equal currency devaluation, economic development would be impossible. In growing economies, income growth exceeds inflation rate. If the value of a purchase tracks income and not inflation, the real value goes up. In the USA, real GDP per capita (adjusted for inflation) has increased 30+% since 2020.[1] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/A939RX0Q048SBEA https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/A939RX0Q048SBEA
• ip26 4y ago
  The idea that even as a locale becomes more desirable it should remain just as affordable is dangerous to our economy.
  • thatguy0900 4y ago
    Are people comaining that it isn't just as affordable, or that it's not even affordable in the slightest?