Homeowners No Happier Than Renters

I’ve already figured that homeowners are no happier than renters, but now it is confirmed by a study conducted by Grace Wong Bucchianeri at Wharton University. Here are some of the conclusions of this study that I found interesting:

Bucchianeri’s research is based on 2005 data collected before the housing crash. Even in a period of optimism about housing as a financial investment, she found that homeownership does not necessarily represent the fulfillment of a dream.

it is clear that homeowners also derive as much pain from their home that is similar in magnitude and significance to the joy they gain from homeownership

The average homeowner tends to spend less time on active leisure or with friends, experiences more negative feelings during time spent with friends, derives less joy from love and relationships and is also less likely to enjoy being with people,

On top of all else, the average homeowner tended to be 12 pounds heavier, according to the research.

average homeowners spend 4% to 6% less time interacting with friends and neighbors and experience more negative feelings when they are with other people.

I’ve always argued that most homeowners do not account for the cost of their own labor when they purchase their homes. Granted, some of that labor is labor of love, so to speak, but a lot of it isn’t. It’s the kind of stuff that your super or landlord would take care of if you were just renting it. If you were to keep track of the hours you spend on purchasing and maintaining a home, I would bet that it would be worth tens of thousands of dollars. Not to account for that is foolish because the same time or money could be spent on doing much more enjoyable things in life.

Furthermore, it has always been clear to me that homeowners become more hostile towards their own neighbors. This is because they need to protect their own investment. If a type of people they don’t like move into their neighbourhood, they become nosy, contemptuous, critical, and easily irritable. This is where racism often raises its ugly head. It’s easy to claim that you are not a racist when you have nothing to lose.

Homeowners also become less supportive of certain social causes such as mental institutions and addiction clinics. They are supportive as long as these institutions are in someone else’s neighborhood, but as soon as they learn that one might be coming right near them, they suddenly turn into fierce community activists.

The most obvious clue that homeowners can’t be happier is that they tend to be more materialistic. Materialism is never satisfied. The more you have, the more you want. And, owning a home is the ultimate dream of a materialist because it is the most expensive purchase that most of us will ever make in our lifetime. This means that owning a home did not make them unhappy; they had all the ingredients to be unhappy even before they bought their homes.

My last argument concerns this statement in the article:

The research also tends to rebut theories that homeowners are happier because they enjoy greater self-esteem and a greater sense of control in their lives.

“Sense of control” is an illusion. No matter what you do, you will never have real control over anything. Owning a home gives you a false sense of control, and that leads to unhappiness. The sooner you can accept that nothing in life is permanent, the better off you will feel. For this reason, I’ve always admired rich people who never bothered to buy their own homes and simply lived in hotel rooms. They clearly understand the futility of persuing permanence and material possession.

—posted by Dyske   » Follow me on Twitter or on Facebook Page

Kondratieff Cycle

This Russian economist named Kondratieff noticed that the world economy has a cycle that lasts about 50-60 years. This cycle apparently coincides with “Neptune travels through the Earth signs”. Kondratieff himself was not aware of any astrological cycles. Here is the chart of “Kondratieff Cycle”.

—posted by Dyske   » Follow me on Twitter or on Facebook Page