Who's the patsy

Just How Terrible Is Housing as an Asset Class? Roubini Weighs In

Home is an essential, yes, but as a home, not as an investment. It is dangerous to become emotionally attached to any investment. Sadly, this principle is forgotten when people make their home their biggest investment. Egos get caught up in "keeping up with the Jones' s" . As a result, the decision to invest in a house isn't based on sound investment principles at all, the most basic of which is surely not to put all of your eggs in one basket.
I have owned six homes in my lifetime and I have never made as much money on any of them as I have in the stock market, particularly when you adjust for risk.
Since most people sell their homes within 5 years anyway, the idea of "ownership" is a psychological illusion. Especially when it is mortgaged to the hilt (The bank owns it then; you just own a leveraged option). I sold my last home in 2003 and have rented ever since. No single asset accounts for more than 10% of my investment portfolio. And I find it is perfectly possible to feel at home in a place you have rented for years. Actually, my ideal "home" would be a hotel. An apartment in the Carlyle in New York.