> Treating housing as an investment is a horrible mistake.
In terms of policy I totally agree, but as an individual, nothing has done more for my personal wealth than my real estate transactions. Of course, a lot of that is my location, but in general, real estate (much like stock) goes up.
My argument is that treating housing as an investment drives costs up over time and that at a policy level we should not seek to do that, we should seek to lower the cost of housing
(while maintaining quality and so on).
All policy decisions aside… At an individual level (in the US), it’s prudent because over the last 50 years homes have been shown to keep their value and beat inflation. For many people it’s a rare chance to accumulate wealth, especially if there is a bubble forming in their market. Therefore, they have an interest in whether their neighbors make decisions that lower their home value.
It's an expensive durable good, policy should be focused on making it cheaper over time.
(while maintaining or increasing suitability/utility, not by letting it decay)