Mike's Minute: Should we "break up" with property?

We are being urged, again, to "break up with property". 

We are urged this way once every few years. 

It's based, not unreasonably, on the idea that we could take our money and make it work differently, if not more productively, than it does stuck in a house. 

The latest iteration comes from a bloke at Craigs Investment Partners, who suggests if you put $100 into a house, in 30 years it's worth $600. But if you had done it with shares, it would be worth $1,100. 

Not just that, but the country would be better off. Those dollars would have been out and about investing in stuff, growing stuff, creating jobs, opening markets, and making the world a better place. 

That may well be true. 

Trouble is, that’s a long-term view and most of us don’t have long term views. 

The view most of us have is: what's happened to New Zealand shares so far this year? Answer: they have gone backwards. In the year to date they are down 1.4%. 

Mind you, housing is hardly booming. 

And if you want a glass half full, shares in New Zealand in the last five years are up almost 10%. Houses are most certainly not up 10% in the past 5 years. 

It may change with the time. One child of ours started buying shares while at university. They are of the generation that believes they will never own a house. 

That’s not true of course – they will, but they also have a portfolio. 

But the perception could be the key. If housing is perceived to be unobtainable, what is obtainable? Maybe shares. 

But credibility is also an issue. Shares can be blue chip or meme-type stock. You can invest, or you can punt. 

Stock can be priced to perfection, or it can be solid as a rock. You can be in Fisher and Paykel Healthcare when Covid arrives, or Air New Zealand when Covid arrives. 

It requires a lot, whereas a house is a roof and shelter and a thing you can show your mates and have a BBQ at. 

Houses are easy and they hardly ever lose you money over time. 

To get people to shift, especially when it comes to money, the pitch has to be compelling. 

In an uncertain, crazy world, is a stock market compelling? 

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