... Demand is increasing exponentially
with the baby boom population retiring.

Ya think? Seems to me that more people are downsizing as they retire.



NOYB wrote:
Houses in Florida don't have basements...and as a general rule are seldom
two stories, and are on tiny lots. Moving to Florida is considered
"downsizing"...everything but the price.


???

You think retirees with less income than they had when working, who are
looking for less expense, less driving, and closer care, are going to
buy increasingly expensive & expansive homes?



What was my idea about rental properties?


Sorry. I meant Gould's idea. It was to buy a cheaper primary residence and
put the savings into rental properties.


Well, that can be made to work out, depending on your community and how
savvy a buyer you are. Probably less risk than your method.

Personally, I wouldn't even invest in REITs and the spreads the risk
maximally. But then, I don't know a lot about real estate and would
rather invest in things I *do* know about.



... When you live in the house, you can afford to ride it out.


Not necessarily. And you're overlooking a very key fact- if your
appreciation doesn't dramatically outpace your loan (which could easily
given any of the above scenarios), your home performs extremely poorly as
an investment.


I only look at my home as an added bonus investment. It's not my primary
means of investment.

Ah so. That reduces the risk considerably. But it also contradicts what
you said earlier, that you are planning to pay off your business loan
and reap an increased income in the future; not putting money into other
investments.


... And what price can you put on the enjoyment of living
on the water with a boat in my backyard and only 2 miles from my office?


Personally, I put a higher value on living more frugally, having a large
& exponentially growing net worth along with investment income that will
see my wife & I comfortably thru retirement, and independence from the
whims of local gov't & the fickle real estate market.

OTOH I bought a pretty expensive boat which isn't going to (fiscally)
appreciate at all. So obviously I place a high value on *that*.

DSK