33.20 Why do you need to own a Home in 2024?

Investing has changed massively over the last 10-20 years.
What worked before, no longer works now.
More importantly, If you don’t make good use of your money, net-net you are losing money.
The more we move into a high-inflationary, high-interest economy, the more obvious it becomes as to why you need to own a House today.
Here are the facts that we know

1. The Devaluation of Money

Money loses its purchasing power over time.

• For example, the US dollar has lost nearly 90% of its buying power in the past 50 years.
• In contrast, assets like stocks, real estate, and gold tend to retain or even increase in value over time.
  

2. Home Ownership WAS simple.

In the past, the process was straightforward:

• Work hard,
• Save money,
• Take a loan,
• Build a house (since few bought from builders),
• Live in it, and pay off the mortgage.

The rent saved went towards paying the mortgage, making homeownership a practical investment at sensible prices.
There was no speculation—houses were simply places to live.

3. Pre-2008 Housing Market

Before 2008, housing prices soared, attracting more investors.
This led to a surge of greed in the industry.

Over time, bankers, Wall Street traders, and builders saw a lucrative opportunity in real estate.
This gave rise to complex financial products like mortgage-backed securities, culminating in the 2008 financial crisis.
Owning a home transitioned from being a practical investment to a speculative one, driving real estate prices up rapidly.

4. What is happening now is an Affordability Crisis

Today, many families struggle to afford a home.
In the US, the gap between median housing prices and median income has more than doubled in the last 40 years. Although specific data for India is lacking, the trend is similar.

5. And for Middle-Class people this is worse

Why?
Because owning a home is often the largest expense or investment.

Typically, around 70-80% of a middle-class family's wealth is tied up in their home.
But the reality now is that:

• Good deals are very hard to come across
• Bad deals are everywhere.

And a bad deal where the majority of your wealth is stuck means:

• Middle class owns fewer real assets
• And faster erosion of their wealth

If you get a good deal, a house is an amazing investment.

But,

• Housing has become a speculative investment.
• Builders tightly control supply, often selling at inflated prices.
• As a result, many middle-income individuals can't afford homes.
• The demand remains high as the wealthy can easily buy multiple properties for speculation.

So your only option is to learn and break through the opaque market.
And make smart decisions.

Source

• Akshat Shrivastava 30 days Newsletter.