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A comment on How housing became the world’s biggest asset class. Parent comment

Re:How housing became the world’s biggest asset class by majos on Wednesday January 22, 2020 @12:19PM (#22119615)
I think they're arguing that the real contribution of home ownership is the incentive to regularly invest in an appreciating asset, not the fact that the asset is a house. I don't think they're arguing that the incentive is irrational.
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Re:How housing became the world’s biggest asset class by marcosdumay on Wednesday January 22, 2020 @01:08PM (#22120202)
Except that housing is not an asset, it's a fundamental good without with people can barely survive.

Making it appreciate is very problematic.

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Re:How housing became the world’s biggest asset class by chii on Wednesday January 22, 2020 @10:52PM (#22124677)
> Making it appreciate is very problematic.

nobody is "making it appreciate" - it's a natural consequence of people desiring a home, and the supply not keeping up (whether by physical constraints, or by political/policy constraints).

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Re:How housing became the world’s biggest asset class by intarga on Thursday January 23, 2020 @06:41AM (#22126738)
> nobody is "making it appreciate"

> political/policy constraints

You just found exactly who is making it appreciate

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Re:How housing became the world’s biggest asset class by wingspar on Wednesday January 22, 2020 @04:17PM (#22122149)
Is a vacation home an asset?
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Re:How housing became the world’s biggest asset class by marcosdumay on Wednesday January 22, 2020 @04:40PM (#22122345)
Well, ok, I have taken it a bit too far. Anything you can use or sell is technically an asset, even if it's more expensive to maintain than you would get on a sale (so even boats qualify).

But policy should never treat it as an asset. For policy, it should be a consumable good that only happens to take a very long time to consume.

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Re:How housing became the world’s biggest asset class by kgwgk on Wednesday January 22, 2020 @04:55PM (#22122472)
The building depreciates and eventually is worth zilch unless you spend to keep its value (maintenance), but the land where the building stands is not a consumable.
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