PortlandDiehard
Dryer sheet wannabe
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2006
- Messages
- 19
Hello all. Please bear with me for the following rant.
I'm usually an analytic person. I've tweaked my asset allocation to maximize return vs. risk, saved like crazy for the last 8 years (I'm 32), minimized expenses, etc. Basically done it "the right way".
Here's the rub: it all feels meaningless compared to the meteoric rise in home prices. Money Magazine did an article recently profiling several early retirees "in making", with a short summary of their assets & liabilities. These were people in their 30s for the most part. Almost to a head, their wealth came disproportionately from recent home price appreciation.
I live in Portland, Oregon and did manage to get my "piece" before selling my house last August. Still, it's almost surreal to see this much wealth created "by accident". Pretty common here to see houses that have appreciated $200K (tax free!) in the last few years. How long would it take an average middle class family (income $60K) to save this much after tax money? 15 years? 10 years if they lived like hermits?
It's frustrating to witness the last few years where hard work, saving, and smart investing just didn't matter. It was ALL about how much house you have and where it's located. It's just dwarfed everything else for the majority of people.
Is anyone else looking forward to normalcy?
Thanks for listening - I feel better now...
Jon
I'm usually an analytic person. I've tweaked my asset allocation to maximize return vs. risk, saved like crazy for the last 8 years (I'm 32), minimized expenses, etc. Basically done it "the right way".
Here's the rub: it all feels meaningless compared to the meteoric rise in home prices. Money Magazine did an article recently profiling several early retirees "in making", with a short summary of their assets & liabilities. These were people in their 30s for the most part. Almost to a head, their wealth came disproportionately from recent home price appreciation.
I live in Portland, Oregon and did manage to get my "piece" before selling my house last August. Still, it's almost surreal to see this much wealth created "by accident". Pretty common here to see houses that have appreciated $200K (tax free!) in the last few years. How long would it take an average middle class family (income $60K) to save this much after tax money? 15 years? 10 years if they lived like hermits?
It's frustrating to witness the last few years where hard work, saving, and smart investing just didn't matter. It was ALL about how much house you have and where it's located. It's just dwarfed everything else for the majority of people.
Is anyone else looking forward to normalcy?
Thanks for listening - I feel better now...
Jon