Past performance does not guarantee future results - That is true for all investment types, including home ownership.

Home ownership does have very advantageous tax consequences in the US compared to other instruments - e.g.: deductible interest, tax breaks on capital gains.

But it also depends on your stage of life. If there is a good chance you'll just randomly move to a different city or country in the next few years, then i would not recommend buying a home.

That's what everyone in America was saying in 2006. Now there are millions underwater in their mortgages. Best investment indeed.

The demographics of the area you buy a house in can change dramatically which affect your house's price, even if the housing market is doing great as a whole.

There are tax advantages, however.

It also depends on the rental market in your area if you'd save more owning or renting. Owning also brings on additional stress with maintenance and repairs.

"I went to the Home Depot the other day, which was unnecessary... I need to go to the Apartment Depot, which is just a big warehouse with people standing around saying "hey, we ain't gotta fix shit!"" - Mitch Hedberg

Which part of the world are you in? If I had to design a truly terrible investment, I'd end up with something that looked an awful lot like housing.

In the US I wouldn't call a home a terrible investment. It's not a great one either. The pluses are - tax privileges and the old mantra "you have to live somewhere", but the minuses are property taxes, lack of liquidity, and transaction costs. The problem when evaluating a house as an investment is that there are hundreds of markets, so no rule is good. Washington DC or San Francisco is a far different market than Austin or Dayton, OH.

I would. It's illiquid, not fungible, prone to bubbles, deteriorates all by itself, costs money just to own, laughable transaction costs, massively impractical to sell or buy in convenient units, generates no income (unless you rent it out, but most people don't - they live in it); just an awful investment. I literally struggle to think of another mainstream investment that is this bad.

Depends on where you are, the cost of renting vs. owning, and whether you plan to move. If you expect to be moving in the next 5 years or so (more likely in your 20s than your 40s) then home ownership usually doesn't make sense.

Real estate is also a lot less liquid than stocks, and that can be a concern too.