House Prices

 There is a great deal in the media about the decline in house price inflation and the fact that in some areas the price of housing is in decline. I couldn't give a damn about the valuation of my house. Why? Because it's all a complete con and I am an house owner of 52 years. 'So your house has gone up £25k (or whatever), well what are you actually doing with it?' The great drawback about the one house I live in as an investment is that I can never get access to the money (unlike other assets like bank accounts, equities etc. that can be drawn out and spent) - and that seriously limits its use as an investment. And I am not interested in downsizing or Equity Release. The main beneficiaries of house price inflation are bankers, estate agents, housing investors, house builders and the government. House price inflation does not benefit most of us. Throughout our lives it amounts to nothing more than an unrealised paper profit, making us feel they are richer than we actually are. The way most of us eventually cash in on our one house is by dying - and that is generally not considered a win.