House prices and behavioral bias

What is about the rising house price of your personal residence (where you live) that appeals to us? I have never understood this bias.

Once you are in your house and all settled in, shouldn’t its market value on the upside be irrelevant? Its not like you can sell the house immediately and capture the appreciation. Its not like you can take a home equity loan (in today’s climate) and convert some of that increased equity into real cash. The only person who is gaining an advantage in this rising price environment is the tax collector, since you have to pay more $ in taxes every year on the newly assessed (rising) value.

This seems like a shitty deal! Every year there is increased outflow of cash (taxes) and no inflow, since the appreciation is an unrealized gain.

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