It is the mobility factor that is the problem; moreso than the price or the “investment”.
I have lived in this house for 12 years; and it is my 6th one.
There was a time that you could put a house on the market at a reasonable price
with a fair amount of confidence that it would sell in 3 months or so;
but that is not so any more.
Home ownership is becoming unattractive for many people.
Either our recollections differ, or the city/state you are in is different than my experience in Sacramento & San Francisco, California.
We had a housing downturn in 1990/91. For the next few years, it was definitely not easy to sell a house in 3 months. By 1998 or so, then yes, it was easy to sell a house within 3 years.
I was just getting out of college, but I recall the recession of 1981/82 with some very high interest rates caused by Volcker to end the recession. Definitely not a time to be able to sell a home in 3 months. By the time I bough my home in 1987, we were back in the start of a new housing boom and yes, it was easy to sell a house in a couple of months.
Cycles.
1980 - 1986, down.
1987 - 1991, up.
1991 - 1997, down.
1998 - 2006, up.
2007 - ?, down.
Cycles. Up and down. These keep repeating.
Right now we are in a down housing cycle with an economic depression and a credit crisis. Triple whammy. So yes, it is exceedingly difficult for many houses to sell in many places, and it doesn’t help that many owners trying to sell have not been able to keep the house up or bring it to perfect condition for the sale.
A neighbor across the way is selling and the paint is awful If I were him, I would beg, borrow, or steal a paint job or offer my realtor an 8% commission if he would pay for the paint up front and take the cost off the backside of the sale. In this market, he is not going to sell a dumpy looking home in an area where 99% of the homes are more or less immaculate - great paint/roofs, manicured lawns. Most people will look at his paint and assume he was as poor with the house maintenance as he was with the outside paint - which would not surprise me if true.
So yes, we are in a horrible cycle that will last a while and selling a house quickly is next to impossible. In your case, I guess it makes sense never to buy again. For most people, after houses become truly affordable again - as they will — many people will be anxious to buy.
I guarantee more housing up cycles. It is undeniable. In your case, you don’t want to be tied down. Well, that is always a strong consideration. There is nothing wrong with the freedom of renting.