4 ms·

Indeed. In the housing game, you buy land and build a house. Excluding inflation, the value of the land goes up. The value of the house goes down. Even with

by b112 3y ago

Indeed. In the housing game, you buy land and build a house. Excluding inflation, the value of the land goes up. The value of the house goes down. Even with regular (eg cost) maintenance, a 25 year old house is never worth what a new house is. New building methods (just improvements in insulation alone), and things like the interior... kitchen cabinets, flooring, bathroom, means that trying to dight this is not cheap. And even if you do? The house is still worth less than a new built. Houses are as cars. Massive devaluation year over year. Most don't get this, because they don't factor in inflation, nor do they factor in the cost of keeping a house maintained. So land, land, land is the cost, which is much of what your post eludes to.

have_faith 3y ago
It's pretty common here (UK) for new-builds to be derided as cheap flimsy throw-away things and old houses being built to last the heat death of the universe. It's probably true from a house skeleton perspective but everyone also knows the new builds (usually) have better insulation.
- stonemetal12 3y ago
  Do new UK homes use reinforced concrete slabs? It is my understanding that those are fairly short lived in UK housing terms anyway, with average life in the 50-75 year range.
  - cornholio 3y ago
    Unless damaged by frequent earthquakes or water seeping into the structure and corroding the steel, or freeze-thaw cycles, reinforced concrete does not degrade significantly with age. The range you quote is more typical to things like concrete infrastructure directly exposed to the elements. Modern HPC concrete structures can be guaranteed for 100 years with proper maintenance and will probably have a natural life of multiple centuries.
itsoktocry 3y ago
>In the housing game, you buy land and build a house. Excluding inflation, the value of the land goes up. North America is filled with property, with or without a house, that is practically worthless. For example, Detroit. "Land goes up" is a narrow perspective outside of major metropolitan centres that happen to be part of the modern economy.
- b112 3y ago
  This is the exception which makes the rule. Any area with massive economic devastation is of course going to vary from this rule. The same is true of any other commodity, or thing you can own, that is immovable and in that 'depressed economic zone'. But certainly, where I live, rural areas.. very rural areas too, the land goes up, slowly, surely, but the houses follow the rules I originally stipulated. It's really quite a universal.

by b112 3y ago

have_faith 3y ago

It's pretty common here (UK) for new-builds to be derided as cheap flimsy throw-away things and old houses being built to last the heat death of the universe. It's probably true from a house skeleton perspective but everyone also knows the new builds (usually) have better insulation.

stonemetal12 3y ago
Do new UK homes use reinforced concrete slabs? It is my understanding that those are fairly short lived in UK housing terms anyway, with average life in the 50-75 year range.
- cornholio 3y ago
  Unless damaged by frequent earthquakes or water seeping into the structure and corroding the steel, or freeze-thaw cycles, reinforced concrete does not degrade significantly with age. The range you quote is more typical to things like concrete infrastructure directly exposed to the elements. Modern HPC concrete structures can be guaranteed for 100 years with proper maintenance and will probably have a natural life of multiple centuries.

itsoktocry 3y ago

>In the housing game, you buy land and build a house. Excluding inflation, the value of the land goes up. North America is filled with property, with or without a house, that is practically worthless. For example, Detroit. "Land goes up" is a narrow perspective outside of major metropolitan centres that happen to be part of the modern economy.

b112 3y ago
This is the exception which makes the rule. Any area with massive economic devastation is of course going to vary from this rule. The same is true of any other commodity, or thing you can own, that is immovable and in that 'depressed economic zone'. But certainly, where I live, rural areas.. very rural areas too, the land goes up, slowly, surely, but the houses follow the rules I originally stipulated. It's really quite a universal.