Hacker News Reader

Except that housing is not an asset, it's a fundamental good without with people can barely survive.

Making it appreciate is very problematic.

> Making it appreciate is very problematic.

nobody is "making it appreciate" - it's a natural consequence of people desiring a home, and the supply not keeping up (whether by physical constraints, or by political/policy constraints).

> nobody is "making it appreciate"

> political/policy constraints

You just found exactly who is making it appreciate

Is a vacation home an asset?

Well, ok, I have taken it a bit too far. Anything you can use or sell is technically an asset, even if it's more expensive to maintain than you would get on a sale (so even boats qualify).

But policy should never treat it as an asset. For policy, it should be a consumable good that only happens to take a very long time to consume.

The building depreciates and eventually is worth zilch unless you spend to keep its value (maintenance), but the land where the building stands is not a consumable.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com