Good conversation here.
Feel free to disagree or disregard a sappy do-gooder like me, but the more I understand real estate, the more complex it becomes. It also has a direct impact on communities and individual lives unlike most other forms of investment. Being a resident of a gentrifying neighborhood, who has grown to know and care about many of my neighbors, I am seeing more clearly that the impact of our investment choices goes beyond just our financial goals. I don't expect everyone to get this, but now being a part of the block parties, having the neighbor kids all up in my house, and having the privilege of teaming up with other able-bodied neighbors to dig the shovel show for the elderly and disabled, I can't help but care about these people, renter, home-owner, whoever.
It's easy to get all excited about the analytics, market identification, demographic trends, and spotting value, but in the end our investment choices impact real people. I firmly believe that can be for good. Development and investment is an inherently good thing when thoughtfully applied.
It's just way more complex than it seems most folks are willing to consider. I find it exciting because it forces more creativity in finding win-win solutions.
@Mike Dymski I tend to agree that appreciating values is clearly a win for most home-owners. However, I have found that many are not in a good position to recognize or execute the opportunity. For instance, say you are elderly and your home has fallen into disrepair. It has gone up in value, so you could theoretically take out a home-equity line to fix it up, but on a fixed income, you may not have the ability to pay it back. The primary way for these folks to benefit is to sell the house that they raised their families in. Same thing with tax increases and people on fixed incomes. Many people really to get forced out of their homes through appreciation. For some people, they really would choose stagnant property values if it meant living out their lives with dignity in their own communities.
