It's interesting data if you have this conversation :
"Buy property it always goes up"
"It always goes up due to inflation"
"no over the long term it always goes up in real terms, if you pay A x average yearly income for a property then in 10 years you can sell it for A + B x average yearly income!"
"Well here is a graph that shows B is hovering around 0 from 1628 to 1945 and has risen dramatically since then".
It certainly is a different way to look at things.
> "Well here is a graph that shows B is hovering around 0 from 1628 to 1945 and has risen dramatically since then"
Ah. That also answers my other questions. Talking about data from the 1600's doesn't really inspire confidence that it has any relevance to today, but talking about a trend that held from the 1600's through to just recently (for varying levels of 'just recently') has more weight behind it.
Piet Eichholtz the Amsterdam series 1628-1973
http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=L5RRx0Db...
It's interesting data if you have this conversation :
"Buy property it always goes up" "It always goes up due to inflation" "no over the long term it always goes up in real terms, if you pay A x average yearly income for a property then in 10 years you can sell it for A + B x average yearly income!" "Well here is a graph that shows B is hovering around 0 from 1628 to 1945 and has risen dramatically since then".
It certainly is a different way to look at things.