On: MIT 11.350: Sustainable Real Estate

[jjav]

> We need to stop treating real restate--especially residential real estate--as a mechanism for creating wealth.

It's not about treating it this or that way though.

Owning a house is creating wealth, it's not something you can avoid. How could this ever not be the case?

We all agree a home is valuable. So if you buy one (and pay for it over many years), you're acquiring something valuable. As opposed to throwing money away in rent. That's it, you built some wealth. There's no way to make it not be valuable.

[jayemar → jjav]

> How could this ever not be the case?

If the value of the house goes down like what happened in 2008.

[jjav → jayemar]

Those houses are now worth more, even inflation adjusted, it was just a temporary dip. So you've still built wealth even if you bought in 2007.