In Los Angeles, $775k gets you this much house.

[Mai72]

A house for me was a great investment. I purchased it about 6 months ago and I already have over 20% equity on the purchase price because of the way the market is moving in my area.

I guess I could have continued renting and had more flexibility, but I could sell my house in 1-2 weeks if I really felt the itch to relocate (inventory is incredibly low in my area) and cash out with an extra six figures in my bank account.

But, FWIW, I actually really like my house. I don't plan on selling anytime soon.

Housing in my area has gone up and down. Many people who were making $50k a year were lured into buying $400k condos. Many went under and we now have a glut of condos sitting on the market. Oh, and those $400k condos are now selling for $260k.

The reason many people in early 2000 thought buying a home was such a great investment was because their parents home was now worth $500k. But, that's after 30-40 years of ownership. Thry didn't see the taxes and the yearly upkeep. The renovations done yearly. Owning a home is a time pit and it's a money pit. How many multi millionaires are cutting their own grass? IMO, It's middle class thinking.

A home has gone up 1% points a year. That's the average. I can get almost the same investment with my savings account. And without the fear that my neighborhood may change. It's happened in the past.

But again. This is just my opinion. I'm not here trying to dissuade anyone from buying home. At the end of the day we all have choices to make.

 

[zinfamous]

Housing in my area has gone up and down. Many people who were making $50k a year were lured into buying $400k condos. Many went under and we now have a glut of condos sitting on the market. Oh, and those $400k condos are now selling for $260k.

The reason many people in early 2000 thought buying a home was such a great investment was because their parents home was now worth $500k. But, that's after 30-40 years of ownership. Thry didn't see the taxes and the yearly upkeep. The renovations done yearly. Owning a home is a time pit and it's a money pit. How many multi millionaires are cutting their own grass? IMO, It's middle class thinking.

A home has gone up 1% points a year. That's the average. I can get almost the same investment with my savings account. And without the fear that my neighborhood may change. It's happened in the past.

But again. This is just my opinion. I'm not here trying to dissuade anyone from buying home. At the end of the day we all have choices to make.

I was looking at Zillow the other day just for shits, and plenty in my county were listed at $170-230k. Last sell price: $300-350k, 2004-2007.

These are mostly 1-2BR houses.

Ouch.

 

[jpeyton]

A home has gone up 1% points a year. That's the average. I can get almost the same investment with my savings account.

This is largely area specific. There are many cities in the country where this is absolutely true, 1% per year and prices are still below their 2006 peak.

There are parts of the country where it's definitely not true. Cities where people are moving for a variety of reasons, whether it's the job market, climate, livability, culture, etc. San Francisco, Seattle, Portland...they are seeing 10%+ gains year over year on average, and pockets of those cities are seeing much bigger gains.

The great thing about the three cities I mentioned above is that their rental market is exploding as well. You can buy a house, see a quick upside on the property value in the short term, or rent it and have someone else pay your mortgage.

Some cities have growth in their future regardless of how the rest of the country is faring. If you're able to buy in one of those cities, I'd say it's worth it.