The Real Estate Conundrum
Real estate prices operate very differently from stock prices. Stocks have several attributes that real estate does not: fungibility, meaning your share of ABC common stock is identical to mine; liquidity, with trades of listed stocks executed instantly; small capital commitments, relatively speaking; and utility, you can’t live in your stock portfolio. A family’s home is often its largest single asset and is often a key element in financial and retirement planning. So what are we to make of the current residential real estate market, with its confusing and even confounding signals?