AMa11-24-13In a volatile world filled with economic uncertainty, real estate endures. That’s why a healthy housing market supports a rosy outlook for other indicators such as employment and consumer purchasing. The value of real estate as a stable commodity that supports the economy as a whole has long been known, as we see from this sampling of wise words about the value of real estate from voices ranging from ancient sages to Shakespeare, the founding fathers and beyond.

“Real estate cannot be lost or stolen, nor can it be carried away. Purchased with common sense, paid for in full, and managed with reasonable care, it is about the safest investment in the world” –Franklin D. Roosevelt

“Land monopoly is not the only monopoly, but it is by far the greatest of monopolies; it is a perpetual monopoly, and it is the mother of all other forms of monopoly.” – Winston Churchill

“Landlords grow rich in their sleep.” – John Stuart Mill

“The major fortunes in America have been made in land.” – John D. Rockefeller

“”He is not a full man that does not own a piece of land.” – Hebrew Proverb

“The best investment on Earth is earth.” – Louis Glickman, US business executive

“Buy on the fringe and wait. Buy land near a growing city! Buy real estate when other people want to sell. Hold what you buy!” –John Jacob Astor

“The small landholders are the most precious part of a state.” – Thomas Jefferson

“I would give a thousand furlongs of sea for an acre of barren ground.” –William Shakespeare

“It is a comfortable feeling to know that you stand on your own ground. Land is about the only thing that can’t fly away.” -Anthony Trollope

These very diverse voices share key ideas about investing in income property that still ring true today — ideas shared by Jason Hartman.. Real estate offers security, stability and the possibility of continued passive income for the long term. The massive housing collapse of the not too distant past painted a graphic picture of the role of real estate as the backbone of a nation’s economy – and why the health of the housing market is still a key indicator of the overall stability of the nation. Owning a piece of land may not, as the Hebrew sage opined, make one a full man – or woman. But it can, as these observations suggest, open doors to long-term prosperity.  (Top image:Fliekr/CatieRhodes)

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