My House is Worth What?

Quote of the day:
“When a man’s best friend is his dog, that dog has a problem.”
--Edward Abbey

Are we living in homes or commodities? It’s hard to tell from hearing people talk about the value of their houses, and watching the real-estate reality TV shows.

On the popular HGTV program “My House is Worth What?" those who show off what they’ve done to their houses are roundly and routinely criticized when they’ve done things that they like but that a lot of potential buyers won’t.

But who is living in the house, you or the potential buyer?

Of course, the very premise of that show is determining what someone might pay to buy your house, so figuring out what the “average” person might like about it is part of that guesswork.

My concern is that hearing what “buyers are looking for” begins to be the same as “what I like,” which is actually “what I guess I should like because everyone else likes it.”

It’s like the culture of high school, where you have to wear what everyone else is wearing. What you like and don’t like is secondary, if it matters at all.

Who is wearing your clothes?

The logical outgrowth of changing our homes for the sake of saleability is that they become just like any other commodity, like soap or fertilizer. They’re all alike, with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, a large master bathroom with a spa tub, french doors to the backyard, vaulted ceilings, 4 bedrooms, and a 3-car garage. One is pretty much the same as another. Except it needs to be painted taupe.

What is your home worth?

To you.