The Cultural Assetization of the Home: Investment Logics in the Housing Market and Implications for Inequality

• In Event: Housing as an Asset

Abstract

Financialization has transformed the symbolic meanings of homeownership and economic practices of buying a home with profound implications for widening racial and economic inequality (Besbris, Robinson, and Angelo 2024; Davis 2011; LaBriola 2025; Prasad 2012). Yet we know far less about the specific investment logics through which the assetization of homeownership is articulated in the housing market, and whether these logics shape how buyers behave. Examining how these investment logics manifest is crucial because they may encourage households to take on high levels of financial risk under the guise of future returns. Investment rhetoric in real estate listing descriptions represent a key site in which houses are culturally constructed into assets---they can be portrayed as vehicles for appreciation and speculation or steady return rather than places to live or grow a family. To examine how the meaning of housing as an investment has shifted over time and its implications for buyer behavior, I analyze a dataset of over 400 million real estate listings from 2003-2024, covering approximately 80\% of homes sold in the United States using natural language processing tools. Specifically, I ask: 1) How has the meaning of a house as an investment changed over time in listing descriptions? 2) Do neighborhoods where houses are marketed as good investments actually appreciate more? 3) Are houses described as good investments purchased with riskier mortgages than comparable homes?

Author

• Angela He, Stanford University