[kenrikm]

I bought a 300k house for 70k (4.9% Fixed) after the bubble burst (Florida) the house had never been under 100k since it was built in the 80s Now it's value is back up to 150k, rent pays mortgage and maintenance 3x. I understand your point, however property can be a good investment if you make smart choices.

[dedward]

A more accurate description would be that you used available credit at the right time to help create a profitable asset, and it ended up highly profitable with low risk.

(I guess I just have an issue with the concept of "buying a house" and "mortgaging a house" becoming synonymous, when they are two very different things.)

[Domenic_S]

I hate when people get pedantic over this. The buyer does in fact own the real property -- the mortgage is secured with an encumbrance.

[bradlind]

In Australia you wouldn't be able to buy a bus shelter for $70,000.

[kenrikm]

My house is 5/4 with garage, 4 miles from Miami Beach. Since Florida was the epicenter of the bust we now have the best prices. :)

[jfoster]

I think this gets to the core of it. Housing in places other than Australia is less of a burden.

[joering2]

> however property can be a good investment if you make smart choices.

Sure, looking _back_ at any commodity/stock chart and "making smart choice" is easy to do. You were lucky, but we are not out of the deep blue real estate hole just yet and we need weaker unemployment numbers in order to see a solid bump.

[kenrikm]

Well in 2006 when I started looking, I said to my wife prices are way to high there is no way this is sustainable we need to wait until they come back down. Turned out to be a great decision.