The ASX200 index is trading around 5,680 points this morning. It first traded at this level back in January 2007, meaning that for the best part of a decade, there has been zero capital growth. To be sure, there has been a decent flow of dividends, but for those who like to see some capital gains, the return, over this long time period, has been all ordinary.
By way of comparison, for what it is worth, house prices have risen by around 53 per cent since the start of 2007 and of course, those living in their house have had the ‘dividend’ of imputed rent.
It has been a massive win for housing over stocks, although this is probably about to change as stocks look increasingly cheap and house prices look increasingly expensive.
