Houses are homes, not investments

While you're still better off building equity instead of paying rent (and deducting mortgage interest from your taxes), my friend at 28th Avenue notes that the housing market isn't the greatest right now.

The big thing: don't expect a lot of value appreciation in your home in the next couple years. 28th links to Calculated Risk, which quotes Fed Chair Bernanke:

To the downside, the correction in the housing market could turn out to be more severe than we currently expect, perhaps exacerbated by problems in the subprime sector. Moreover, we could yet see greater spillover from the weakness in housing to employment and consumer spending than has occurred thus far.

Update 4/12: Check out the comments from EKM, where he links to an amazing tool posted by the New York Times for calculating whether it's better to rent or buy in your particular area.

Can I be a renter again?

This week has highlighted why the federal government needs to give people home interest deductions to get them to buy houses.

Thursday - noticed water dripping through the basement ceiling from near the bathroom tub. Had already planned grout repair, but now project has new urgency. Cost: $50 in materials, 5 hours in work time.

Saturday - furnance breaks while out to dinner with friends. Although most furnace manufacturers make a good product, I'm told by the serviceman that "every one has a bad model." Great. Not only is the visit outside normal business hours, but he has to make a special trip to pick up our furnace valve (it's a "unique" type). Cost: $500, and one cold night.

Tuesday - garage door fails to open when I try to leave for work. Hmm, are these cables on the door supposed to be hanging limp? Oh, and I bet this roller is actually supposed to be in the guideway, as opposed to on the garage floor. Car was liberated from garage after jimmying with door opener and manually "assisting" the opener. However, broken roller means door looks drunk when closed. Cost: a minimum of $100, and no help until Thursday.

Any good deals on a 2BR with laundry?