I had a thought this morning and wanted to share it with you. I think that too many homeowners are thinking of their homes primary use is as an investment and not as a home for them and their families. I found this to be quite alarming.

I know that this sounds like heresy, especially coming from a Realtor but I think it is time that most of us stop thinking of our homes as investments. Your property whether it be a small condo or townhouse, a detached home in a good neighbourhood or a mansion in the best part of town should be first and foremost be your home. A place for you and your family that suits your lifestyle and lets you enjoy your life. Make your home work for your happiness before you make it work for your wallet.

We have just come through a period of adjustment in house values after a prolonged and unprecedented period of growth in real estate values and all indication are that there is still some way to go before real estate values settle and are more easily predicted. Home values tend to increase over the long term with peaks and valleys along the way. If your home is thought of as primarily being an investment when do you want to cash out and when you do where will you live and what will you do with your stuff?

This does not mean that your home is not an investment. As you pay down your mortgage you are growing equity and more importantly securing a home for your family for now and the future. You want to maintain your home so that it is always safe and comfortable for your family and continues to meet your families needs and secondarily to protect the financial value that it has. In my opinion the only time you should be concerned about the value of your home is when you are thinking of selling.

This is by no means a complete analysis of the subject, just a few thoughts off the top of my head. Let me know what you think!

Here are a couple of interesting articles from the Financial Post that you may find interesting;
http://business.financialpost.com/2013/01/11/canadians-pin-retirement-dreams-on-not-so-safe-houses/?__lsa=222c-053a
http://business.financialpost.com/2013/01/11/bad-real-estate-investments-leave-couple-with-1-5-million-in-debt/

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