[mrhektor]

I think the trick is only owning assets that might appreciate in value.

I wouldn't want to own a car because the value of cars drops as soon as you take the car out of the lot. But owning a house /apartment might be a good idea if the market is relatively stable and you can actually afford it.

It also depends on lifestyle. For a person like me, who moves around a lot, owning furniture for example doesn't make sense. The moving costs, maintenance costs and so on are just a pain. I'd rather rent the furniture, or rent a furnished place.

[tialaramex]

The house doesn't appreciate in value. You can tell because they do _make_ houses which don't appreciate in value. They're often called "mobile" homes although in practice moving them is tremendously expensive and they'll most likely be put up in one place and never leave. They don't appreciate because the materials they are made from decay, needing ongoing maintenance or reducing the value.

What actually does appreciate is _real property_ aka land. Because there will only ever be a finite amount of that, and each parcel is in a particular place and can't be moved. If everybody wants to live in Brisbane, or Guernsey, the price of land there explodes because it simply isn't possible.

And even then, appreciation is driven by population. In a world where population stops growing or even shrinks, prices for real property may fall in most places.