In many locales the house is the least valuable thing on the property. When you buy real estate you’re buying a location above all else. As the population has g

In many locales the house is the least valuable thing on the property. When you buy real estate you’re buying a location above all else. As the population has grown and high paying jobs have increasingly consolidated into fewer urban areas, the demand for real estate in those locations has increased. So it’s the land and location you’re investing in which is certainly not a depreciating asset. Where I live it’s an old town that doesn’t have anymore room to build and way more people want to live here than there could ever be homes. So prices continue their rise even if you invest very little in the home. Saying that, you’re right that owning a house means taking care of it which costs money.