I don’t think it’s all that great for seniors either.
My current house cost $440,000 in 1999. We’ve probably put $250-300,000 into it over the years. Its estimated value on Zillow is now $2.4 million.
BUT...
What good does that do for me and my wife? My insurance has tripled in just over a decade, my property tax is higher, and what can I do with a theoretical value that I can’t touch? If I sell and stay in Miami I can only find a similar property, so that would make no sense.
The only benefit is if we were to drop dead, our kids would be able to cash out at the inflated price.
“The only benefit is if we were to drop dead, our kids would be able to cash out at the inflated price”
Sounds like you’re minimizing the benefit when you should be jumping for joy. Passing appreciated assets to your heirs tax free is the point of any good estate planning strategy. Celebrate your good fortune!
We bought our house in 1997 when real estate was essentially flat lined. Yes, it is now worth over 5 times what we paid for it but if we sold it what would we do? It has been paid off for many many years. Wouldn’t benefit us at all to move.