re: $300,000 home cash, or 50% down $600,000 home in a nicer neighborhood

Depends where in the country. Generally, I would go for a smaller, nicer house. I have zero obsession over a massive house.

I don't need a 4,000+ sq ft house. Give me a 2000-2400 sq ft house and I'll travel the world with the excess cash in my pocket.

Here in Monroe County Florida it's about $1300 on $300k. You don't get much from paying the property taxes. The schools are mostly funded through a 1/2 cent sales tax that doesn't really burden the local population. Schools are pretty well funded.

Thats fair, everyone needs to find the right balance for them. I do see the logic for some of it forcing them into a nest egg that they otherwise might not of created. My homes are not my biggest savings vehicle but I do look forward to cashing out on my larger home upon retirement and adding its value to my savings.

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But the next 15-30 years the average yield could be historically low. 3,45,6,7,8 no one knows what the average yield will be over that period. That's why it's questionable. There is risk, but if the market performs better there is also reward.

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If that were the case, then real estate prices would mirror the market and you would've essentially put a majority of your money into a depreciating asset. Speculation will always play second fiddle to data for me. But I understand The counter argument and all it's perceived pros and cons.

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parents live inside the loop in houston, and they bought their house when I was probably 10-12 years old, early 90s like 91 or 92 I wanna say. They're up nearly 5x on it now.....and thats in houston, other markets im sure saw significantly more

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And other markets sure saw significantly less. Plus, your parents probably took a loan out. At current interest rates, if you borrow 100k, you are going to pay double that over a 30 year mortgage. And that doesn't include taxes and insurance. So your parents house has increased 5x's, but they paid 2x's the original price. So although that's a good investment, it's still not insane.

If you'd invest that cash and get a 7% return over that same period, you'd quadruple your investment. So maybe blowing the money on a house you don't need isn't that wise.

And to top it all off, your parents are in the heart of one of the fastest growing areas in the country over the last few decades. Most people aren't seeing that type of return. I've probably lost some value in my house over the last two years in the Houston area due to the oilfield situation. Homes should not be considered an investment. Or at least their primary function should not be (excluding flipping houses and stuff). You should definitely take the investment aspect of the house into consideration, but it should be secondary as the market is as volatile as any.