Remember when the main reason to buy a home was to live in it?
It astronomical price gains that have made paper million-seems like a quaint concept, after a decade of aires out of many who, courtesy of luck, timed the market right. But the tide is turning, and we appear to be going back to the days when homes were viewed mainly as shelter, rather than a retirement plan or a banking machine.
Yes, many who bought houses or condos have seen an enormous increase in the value of their purchase, some of it due to inflation and the rest to a long bull market.
But many who bought near the top of the recent peak, especially those who put very little down, may find themselves owing more than the value of their "asset."
In many parts of Europe, renting is seen as a viable choice, not something to be ashamed of. That view has recently taken over much of the U.S., after so many were burned by the housing bubble there.
On the West Coast, where we've been gripped by housing hysteria for years, many view renting as losing and buying as winning the lottery. We believe "It's different here," and "Everyone wants to live here."
While we enjoy a spectacularly beautiful setting, there are lots of other great places to live, and many people who live elsewhere don't want to move here.
The old "Best Place on Earth" slogan the B.C. Liberals used to tout must have gone to our heads, since many of us believe that while real estate markets in Spain, Ireland and other countries decline, the same won't happen here.
If prices do slide, it will give those who have been shut out of owning a home a chance to compete. And it will free up money for consumer spending, which is what keeps our economy going.
Most of all, it will return us to the days when a house is what it should be: a home.
