In January, there were more real-estate agents than homes for sale in the U.S.

Re:In January, there were more real-estate agents than homes... by munk-a on Monday March 22, 2021 @06:43PM (#26548371)

If it's just about money then you should diversify - but owning your own home is a self-securing investment, it means you can't go broke no matter how bad fate treats you - with the exception of going underwater on your property value which is only ever actually a problem since banks can effectively margin-call their mortgaged properties.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:In January, there were more real-estate agents than homes... by blaser-waffle on Tuesday March 23, 2021 @11:18AM (#26556034)

> owning your own home is a self-securing investment, it means you can't go broke no matter how bad fate treats you

lol what? Trees fall on houses all the time. Pipes break and water damage can seriously impact structure & foundation. Dumb-ass kids accidently drive their mom's car through the veranda. Houses burn down and kill people. A factory shuts down and now there are no more jobs so everyone leaves, driving your house price down.

Assuming a home is a secure investment -- even in a hot market like SF or DC -- is foolish.

> More than one-quarter (27%) of reported fires in 2014-2018 occurred in homes. Even worse, more than three-quarters (77%) of civilian fire deaths and almost three-quarters (73%) of all reported injuries were caused by home fires.

> During this five-year period, US fire departments responded to an estimated average of 353,100 home structure fires per year. These fires caused an annual average of 2,620 civilian deaths; 11,030 civilian fire injuries; and $7.2 billion in direct property damage.

https://www.nfpa.org/News-and-Research/Data-research-and-too...

[ Parent | on HN ]