Housing values
Sunday, May 31, 2009 at 07:42AM I dwell in Possibility,
A fairer house than Prose.
Emily Dickinson
This has been the first "stay-at-home" weekend I've had for a month or more. And it's been both relaxing and productive. Our house sits on one of Minnesota's 15,000 lakes and its screened-in deck provides a lovely view. Middle Jefferson's not the best lake in the state by any measure - shallow, mud-bottomed, and weedy until early July. But it is quiet and a refuge for pelicans, muskrats, ducks, leaping fish, herons, turtles, egrets, and the occasional eagle. The sunsets are glorious. Could be worse.
What got me thinking about the house was a story on public radio yesterday about how the "net worth" of so many Americans is completely tied up in their houses. And how the uncertainty in home values (your house is worth nothing if you can't sell it) is causing great unease among lots of people.
And here I naively thought we bought homes for the quality of life they provide, not simply as a financial investment tool. As a nest rather than a nest egg. Were I to sell this house at a loss, I believe I still would come out ahead considering the wonderful events it's hosted - holiday meals for the masses, fishing and boating with the grandsons, graduation parties, quiet evenings with friends, and even summer department meetings. It's a congenial place that's value lies less in land, paint and shingles than in memories and pleasant hours spent.
I was recently asked if I knew the monetary value of a school library. Such a number is not that hard to calculate - add up building costs per square foot and the cost of resources, furniture and equipment. I'm sure such numbers have importance to some people, but I have a tough time seeing any program that nurtures a love of reading, problem-solving and learning in purely dollars-and-cents terms.
Perhaps I am just getting sentimental in my old age. But I feel sorry for those who only see worth when dollars are involved when it comes to either homes or schools.
