> But in a saner world, housing would depreciate in value over time in proportion to its use and maintenance, like other durable goods. Without any external in

> But in a saner world, housing would depreciate in value over time in proportion to its use and maintenance, like other durable goods. Without any external influencing factors, a house would not typically depreciate. So a depreciating house isn't normal, there is something external causing it (like the city is going broke, lost most jobs, or environmental factors make the area bad to live in, etc). But if all is well, a house will not depreciate if it is lived in and maintained. A house can last centuries and inflation means building an equivalent house is always more expensive later than it was to build this one. So it is not natural to expect a house to depreciate.