In relation to the housing market, with loans aside, in general it is a horrible time if you are trying to sell a house. If you are trying to buy a house, it is an excellent time to buy (provided you can find a decent loan). If you need to sell AND buy a house, it is probably going to be a wash…you may sell yours low, but will probably buy another house low as well. And that got me thinking some more…

Most people view houses as investments, right? And most people view stocks, mutual funds, etc as investments too, right? So why don’t people look at these in the same way? Is it that one is something you really feel like you “own” and the other is just some idea on paper (or in a database somewhere)? Is it that real estate is more “secure” than stocks? Is it that no one is really reporting too much on the percentage of home value declines (not to mention what you’re losing paying interest on sizable loans). Is it that there is sentimental value tied to real estate? I can understand all of those scenarios and more, but at the end of the day both really boil down to money as far as investing and value goes. And that got me thinking some more…

If I’m looking at real estate and the stock market as investment options, why wouldn’t I behave in the same general manner with each of them?

While I would love to sell my house right now and buy a new one, there’s no way that you’d get me to sell my current house for less than my current balance on it (note that I didn’t say my investment in it).  That’s just plain silly unless I had a very good reason for doing so and could afford to lose on it (which I don’t an which I can’t). And while I’d love to be able to pick up a new house at a deal and sell my current house when the market is better, I just can’t afford to do so.  I’m stuck trying to make the best out of a bad situation.

On the stock market side I was watching my 403b (all stock based mutual funds) tank like a rock. That’s fine as I’m not able to touch it for a few decades without huge penalties anyway…and I’m assuming things will get better at some point in there. But it bothered me that I could not do anything with this account but watch it and move the shells around (this was setup when I had an employer and they set it up to where all I could do was manage where the funds are within the confines of a given set of mutual funds). What I really wanted was something that I could go out and contribute to now AND that I could actually have some say in why I’m losing my money hand over fist. And as I watched certain stocks of interest fluctuate I couldn’t help but to get the urge to buy stock while it is low. I missed out a few years back and I didn’t want to miss the train this go round. And that got me moving…

On Monday I shopped around the various stock brokers to see what they had going on right now and I settled on Scottrade since they seemed to be the best deal for what I was wanting to do AND more importantly they only required $500 cash to open an account.  Most other places require $1,500 or more to open an account and that just wasn’t an option. (I didn’t say that I had a lot of money to invest…I only said that I wanted to invest.) Also, they have a flat $7 commission for Internet trades, which isn’t all that bad from what I saw. [If you're in the market for a new investment account and want to open up with Scottrade by the end of October 2008, let me know and I can send you a referral link that will get you 7 commission-free trades.]

On Wednesday (today) my account was funded and I made my first purchase. Call me crazy, but I’m shopping for bargains.

In conclusion, I am officially treating real estate and housing the same. Instead of freaking out and selling off stocks at very low rates, I’m out buying them due to the increased investment potential (no one knows the future, even if they have “tips”…just ask Martha Stewart.). While I can’t afford to do this in the housing market, I can do it in the stock market and I’m doing just that. Wish me luck.

[Disclaimer: Don't listen to my investing opinions...I'm just a crazy guy marching to the beat of his own drum and I am mildly comfortable with risk.  It's your money, you do what you want with it.  Go buy the large cookie dough Blizzard if that's what you really want. And by all means, please research before you make any investments. This isn't "The Game of Life". This is real money we're talking about. You may very well end up losing every last penny of it.]