Sunday, October 17, 2010

Buying a Home as an Investment

Research shows that from 1890 to 1996, residential real estate values increased about 27%. I had always advised folks to treat a home as just that, not a means of growing rich. The small increase in home values would attest to that reasoning over the years.

I got lots of flak in the late 1990s and early in the 21st century. That’s because, from 1996 to 2008, residential real estate values rose sharply, about 72% on average.

That up-cycle has now come to a sudden demise and is in a down-spin. And I can repeat my old admonition. Buy a home to suit your budget and your family requirements.

If you want to invest in real estate there are other options. For example, commercial REIT index mutual funds or ETFs.

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