Real Estate Investment

Real Estate can be an investment instrument. Real Estate that can generate income works as investment income. Apartment houses, warehouses, farm land, and other kinds of income producing real estate are investment instruments.

Your house is not an investment instrument.

When a real estate broker or mortgage banker tells you that you don't have to worry about finance costs of buying a house becuase it's just an investment that will increase in value and the appreciation in value will magically take care of all those nitty gritty mortgage finance problems you need to pack up your papers and run. Stay far, far away from those people.

Your home is a place to live. It has maintenance costs attached. It does not generate income. It is not an investment.

Double Blind has a nice post explaining this idea.