> "...Moreover, houses are pretty much the only physical good that are expected to 1) appreciate in value, and 2) be used all the time." That sounds more like

> "...Moreover, houses are pretty much the only physical good that are expected to 1) appreciate in value, and 2) be used all the time." That sounds more like a perpetuum mobile. I wish the author cosidered the third choice that is "an empty lot with a vision to build that exact house from ground up". Something tells me that the current building costs contribute a lot to the home prices in general and project the "recapture" into the future. Whether ammortization of the real estate is fairly factored in the price remains unknown. Also, what is indeed maintaining the scarcity is the land itself, well, that's the part of the "location".