ByYuqing Pan6:00 am ETApril 4, 2016StockFinland/iStock“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest,” Benjamin Franklin pronounced grandly in one of his 275 most famous proverbs. Thanks loads, Ben! But in today’s topsy-turvy, thrill-a-minute financial markets, most people are desperate to gain something a bit more tangible from their invested dollar—namely, a few more dollars. Lots of them, in fact—in ever-multiplying increments.For a generation, housing was considered the go-to source for a rock-solid return on investments. But the past decade held some rude awakenings for people who thought their nest eggs were safely invested in their home. 401(k)s? They also suffered a few gut punches. And the past few months have disturbed many who put their faith—and their cash—in the stock market.So it led us to wonder: Where is the best place to park your cash?Please, Mr. PostmanSend me news, tips, and promos from realtor.com® and Move. Sign UpAnd that prompted another question: Just how much do you like to gamble?Because there are investments and then there are investments. Hot on the heels of the housing crash came the rise of the flippers, making what looked like easy money out of cheap real estate and some design know-how. But, as one popular TV show notes, there are flips and there are flops. The corporate route? Well, If you’d plunked down $1,000 on Apple stock right after its 1980 IPO, it would be worth well over $350,000 today. An investment of a thousand clams in Pets.com, one of the hottest Internet tickets of ’90s? You might just as well have fed it to the dogs.And then, of course, there are the weird speculations—the odd collectibles that down the road can become gold … or garbage. Last year, a 1952 Mickey Mantle baseball card in mint condition sold for $528,500. But remember Beanie Babies? At least 60% of American households in the ’90s had one of these squishy, creepy “limited edition” plush toys, and for a time some were superhot commodities on eBay. Today, the forlorn survivors are worth about 50 cents apiece, according to Fortune. So when it comes to investment, timing is key. We (sadly) can’t predict the future, but wedo have historical data to help you get a rough picture of a variety of options. How do home investments compare with, say, bitcoins? We tracked the one-year return and three-year annualized return of nine top investment choices using market indices (returns are through March 2016 unless otherwise noted) to see what have turned out to be the best bets. Let’s put on our speculator’s hats and take a gander, in reverse order of return:1. Gold3-year annualized return: -8.5%1-year return: 3.5%Gold has been mined, traded, chased, cherished, or stolen since antiquity. But in the U.S., it’s long been on a roller-coaster ride. And in the past few years, gold prices have been declining because of the stronger dollar and investors’ waning interest. Once among the most stable of assets, it’s no longer an essential—or even advised—part of most investment portfolios, says NerdWallet investing expert Arielle O’Shea. If you truly can’t resist the glitz and the bling, make it less than 10% of your holdings. And you probably want to buy it through gold exchange–traded funds, rather than having bullion at home.2. Art3-year annualized return: -8.2% (as of January 2016)1-year return: -25.2%After years of insanely surging prices in the fine art market—driven largely by hot-to-trotnouveau riche collectors, particularly from China—the hype seems to be cooling off. In 2015, Christie’s International, the world’s leading auction house, reported a 5% decline in annual sales, ending five straight years of growth, Bloomberg reported.Even the greatest artists of the 20th century have seen their currency slip, as evidenced by the recent sluggish numbers from the Artprice Global Index. In February this year,Picasso’s 1935 oil painting “Tete de Femme” sold for $27.6 million, a far cry from the $39.9 million that the owner had paid a little over two years ago. Bad Pablo! An Henri Matisse drawing that was sold for $383,500 also incurred a nearly 20% loss to the seller.3. Fine wine3-year annualized return: -4.1% (as of February 2016)1-year return: 0.7%In November 2013, a mystery buyer (whom we’d seriously like to be friends with) paid a record $476,405 for a 12-bottle case of 1978 Romanée-Conti grand cru in Hong Kong. Investing in wine is hardly a new phenom, and despite such high-profile wins, the wine market also has its highs and lows of late. According to the Liv-ex Fine Wine index, which tracks the 100 most sought-after vintages, the market hit a peak in 2011, followed by four years of declines and one year of stabilization. As of February 2016, the index stood 0.7% higher than last year.Some of the most in-demand investment wines are fine Bordeaux, grand cru Burgundy, as well as Napa cabernet sauvignon and tête de cuvée Champagne, according to Wine Folly. What’s the biggest difference between wine investment and others? In the worst-case scenario, you can drink it. Cheers!4. U.S. Treasury bonds3-year annualized return: 2.1%1-year return: 3.0%You want steady? U.S. Treasury bonds are considered supersafe investments, assuming the government doesn’t default on its debt. The three-year annualized return of U.S. Treasury bonds is about 2%, according to Barclays aggregate bond indices. No, they’re not exciting. But you likely won’t go broke, either. You want exciting, go see “Deadpool.”“You are not going to get a high return from it, but at least you know the money is coming back,” says Ira Fateman, a financial adviser in San Francisco. “The pain of losing money is greater than the satisfaction of making money.”But will your money always come back? Laura Varas, founder of Hearts & Wallets, says an interest rate hike could cause the bonds to lose some value. Remember the ’90s bond crash? We do!5. Stamps3-year annualized return: 2.7% (as of December 2015)1-year return: 2.0%Nerd alert: In 2014, a British Guiana One-Cent Magenta postage stamp from 1856—the only one of its kind—sold for a record $9.5 million. According to Stanley Gibbons’ GB250 Rarities Index, the top traded 250 stamps have never fallen in value over the past two decades. During the stock market crash of 2008, the index actually gained 17.7%. Let the bullies at work call you names. Keep collecting those stamps!6. Real estate3-year annualized return: 6.8% (as of February 2016)1-year return: 4.4%A house is not just a home—it’s a crucial part of your wealth. (And, of course, your life.) Nationally, consumer households’ net equity in real estate, including principal residence and additional real estate, takes up 46% of their total investable assets, according to data from Hearts & Wallets.The U.S. market is coming back strong after the housing bust, posting a 6.8% annual growth in median sale price of existing homes in the past three years, according to theNational Association of Realtors®. Real estate is once again an excellent hedge against inflation, should the dollar lose purchasing power, while renting is an inflation trap. You’ve heard about real estate tycoons, but not renter tycoons.Why do you think that is?“Most buyers finance their purchase with a mortgage, which provides leverage on the real estate investment with tax advantages,” says Jonathan Smoke, our chief economist. “The mortgage also acts as a forced-savings vehicle, as each payment covers the interest and pays down principal. So collectively, home buyers build wealth over time and enjoy the utility of having shelter.”7. Stocks3-year annualized return: 11.8% (with dividends reinvested)1-year return: 1.8%We’re only one quarter in, but 2016 has already been one hell of a turbulent year for the stock market, taking many investors on a sometimes thrilling, sometimes nauseating Cyclone-like ride.“Over time, your investment [in stock] will produce good returns, but you need to be in it for a long time frame,” O’Shea says. “If you’re going to panic when the market goes down, or if you need your money soon, it’s probably not a good investment for you.”The key to success in the stock game is having a diversified portfolio, analysts say (over and over). And in today’s market, it’s way safer to invest in well-performing funds that allow you to have a basket of stocks, rather than investing in individual companies, Unless, of course, you truly believe that the Scandinavian Beard Waxing chain that just announced its IPO is the next Apple.According to S&P 500 Total Return Index, the 10-year annualized return through March 2016 is 7.0%.8. Classic cars3-year annualized return: 23.6% (as of February 2016)1-year return: 4.8%Classic automobiles used to be solely a passion of wealthy collectors—now they’re a bona fide asset class. And ever since the market began moving beyond the province of rich-guy car geeks, including Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno, into the (relative) mainstream, it’s been on a tear. But after years of rapid growth, price surges at the top of the market are finally hitting the brakes, according to the Hagerty “Blue Chip” Index, which tracks 25 of the hottest collectible automobiles of the postwar era. While scads of vintage cars tracked by the index have been relatively stable for years, one Ferrari model is the biggest outlier: The 1958 Ferrari 250 GT California LWB, now valued at $12.3 million if in good condition, has seen 41% annual growth over the past three years. Seen one at any garage sales?9. Bitcoin3-year annualized return: 64.3%1-year return: 69.6%Created as a standard of digital currency in 2009 by an inventor who goes by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious and controversial bitcoin has seen its value climb from nothing to hundreds of dollars per “coin” in just a few years. It may not have physical form, but it is recognized and used as currency. And like stocks, bitcoin has led its investors on quite a dance.Much like a precious metal such as gold (although way less sparkly), bitcoins have a value that is subjective—it’s determined by how much people will pay on the open market. And that changes all the time. It’s been a speculator’s market right from the start. A Norwegian man bought $26 worth of bitcoin shortly after the currency debuted in 2009, totally forgot about it, and then unexpectedly found out in 2013 it was worth $886,000, the Guardian reported. The bitcoin market saw a crash later that year (2013) when China’s central bank warned financial institutions to steer clear of the digital cash. But then it went up again and it’s been a steady upward trajectory ever since. Although a series of heists have shaken people’s confidence in a currency they can’t actually put in their wallets, a bitcoin is still worth about $415 today, according tocoindesk BPI.“If you have a little bit of playing money and you want to test out nontraditional investments, go for it. But also be prepared to lose money,” says O’Shea.So just how lucky are you feeling these days, anyway?
Celebrity real estate is a high-paced world of wheeling and dealing. Over the past 10 years, plenty of famous faces have scored big or lost out in attempts to secure (or sell!) the home of their dreams. To help commemorate its 10th anniversary, Zillow put together this list of some of the hottest homes that have come and gone as these stars vied to scratch their never-ending real estate itch.By Melissa AllisonOprah WinfreyAmerica’s favorite billionaire owns homes all over the country, from Chicago to Nashville to Hawaii. She’s even bought a 2-bedroom in a small Indiana town where she once owned a whole farm.Recently, the television mogul paid $14 million for a high-tech mansion in the box-canyon ski town of Telluride, Colo. — complete with a seven-person hot tub and a “wine mine” — and $28.85 million at a recent auction for this sprawling horse farm in Montecito, Calif.Ellen DeGeneresBeloved comedian and talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres has been buying copious numbers of homes since before she married Portia de Rossi. “I’ve never bought to sell. I always say: 'This is it. I’m never moving.’ People laugh at me now,” she told The New York Times.DeGeneres bought this Malibu home from fellow house-flipper Brad Pitt.Nicolas Cage“Other people own beachfront property; I have ghost-front property,” actor Nicolas Cage said of owning the most haunted mansion in New Orleans, the Lalaurie House.Not that he limits himself to ghosts. Among the dozen-plus places he’s called home over the past decade are a castle in Bath, England, and a castle-looking home in Rhode Island, which he sold at a 60 percent loss.CherThe multi-talented entertainer with seemingly endless energy found time over the past decade to trade real estate, including buying this home in the coveted 90210 ZIP code.She also auctioned off her Hawaiian estate for a hefty $8.72 million.Angelina Jolie & Brad PittHere’s a power couple with a powerful appetite for real estate. They’ve bought at least six homes in the past decade and sold one to Ellen DeGeneres. That doesn’t even count the $22.5 million sale of the Beverly Hills home Pitt and ex-wife Jennifer Aniston sold after their split.Jolie and Pitt recently cut the listing price on the New Orleans mansion they bought in 2006 for Pitt’s Big Easy filming of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” by $850,000.Julia RobertsHere’s a superstar with a super-long list of homes. Roberts bought her main residence, at Malibu’s Point Dume, in the early 2000s, but has done a fair bit of transacting in the meantime.She’s asking $26 million for a lush Hawaiian estate that’s near two other Hanalie properties she owns. While she dropped the price on that tropical oasis, Roberts raked in more than she was asking — for a total of $5.35 million — on a Greenwich Village penthouse for which she paid $3.9 million in 2010.Roberts still has a pad in Manhattan, which she’s reportedly renting out. But she’s unloaded a lot, including homes in her hometown of Smyrna, Ga., and in Pacific Palisades, Beverly Hills and Venice, Calif., the latter to actor Tim Robbins. Across the country, she’s sold homes in Tennessee, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.Dwayne “The Rock” JohnsonFor a guy his size, Dwayne Johnson is surprising nimble — at home trading.The Rock has leaned mostly toward home selling over the past decade — most of those homes in Florida. He’s unloaded at least 10 homes there over the past decade, including this mega-mansion outside Miami with two 3-car garages and a deluxe master bath.Rosie O’DonnellHere’s another talk-show host with a voracious appetite for real estate. O’Donnell’s most recent score is this mansion in West Palm Beach with 180 feet of waterfront.She paid $5.3 million for it, fully furnished, which shouldn’t be a stretch given the $9 million sale a couple of years ago of her Greenwich Village penthouse.Kelsey GrammerWhile Sideshow Bob was busy being a, well, sideshow on “The Simpsons,” the actor who voices him was center stage in the first season of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” in which his marriage fell apart — precipitating all sorts of real estate swaps.The property-loving Grammer unloaded many of his and ex-wife Camille’s holdings in recent years, including their main home in Malibu.The Grammers also let go of homes in Beverly Hills, Hawaii, The Hamptons and a ski retreat in Colorado.Reese WitherspoonFor a while, this Oscar winner was a Brentwood fanatic. She bought three homes in the posh Los Angeles enclave, including an “enchanted cottage,” that collectively went for $13.6 million in 2014.Witherspoon sold her Ojai getaway at a loss, but picked up a $12.7 million Pacific Palisades mansion, along with two homes in Nashville suited to a Southern belle. One of them is a historic home she plans to restore.
By Tim Anderson and Harry ChandlerPurchasing a vacation home is a great way to ensure that you always have a place to escape, without worrying about crammed hotel rooms and the inconvenience of living out of a suitcase for a week. When you own a vacation home, you can pack and leave at your convenience, because you always have a home away from home ready for you to utilize. If buying a vacation home appeals to you, you will need to choose the right location to ensure that the home remains a valuable, welcome part of your family. Here are some factors to consider as you make the decision.Convenience to Your HomeFirst, determine if the location is convenient enough to make a vacation home appealing. How close is the vacation destination to your home? While it is great to "get away," the reality is that you may not wish to fly every time the opportunity to go on vacation arises. Especially with the rising cost of airline tickets, you may wish to choose a location within a short drive of your home.Of course, sometimes driving is not an option. If you long for the convenience of a tropical retreat, but you live in the mountains of North Dakota, then go ahead and purchase somewhere tropical. However, before you do, check your local airport to ensure that regular flights are available.Ongoing AppealYour vacation home is an investment that you will use year after year. Before you buy, make sure the area has staying power for your family. You need to buy in an area where your family will want to go annually for vacation. No matter how appealing an area may be the first two or three times you visit, you are investing in years of vacation. Is there really enough for your family to do to be interested long term?The answer to this question is going to depend largely on your family's vacation style. If you are a lounge-on-the-beach-and-do-nothing type of vacationer, then a cabin on the beach in a remote area is ideal. If you like to see sights and do activities, then you will want to ensure that the city or town nearby has plenty to keep you interested — or even that the vacation home is located near a major amusement park or big city.Potential Rental IncomeAnother consideration is what you will do with your vacation home when you are not using it. Do you want to rent out your property to earn some income when you are not using it? While the majority of vacation homeowners do not choose to rent out their property, if you think you may want this option, you will need to buy in a popular destination where vacationing is common. Consider shopping near the mountains, ocean, a lake or a river.Potential Investment ValueVacation homes are, at their most basic level, an investment. Evaluate the location to determine if it will be a wise investment with growing value.In 2014, the number of vacation home sales rose by 57 percent, which is a peak since 2006, according to CNBC. The vacation-home market accounted for a full 21 percent of the homes sold that year as well. This means there is currently a strong market for vacation properties.Yet that does not mean a strong market will remain for your vacation property. For that information, you will need to research the area where you are buying with the help of a skilled real estate agent. Choose an area where sales prices are on the way up and where a continuing demand for real estate is projected in the coming years.Family InterestFinally, find out what your family thinks. Do they picture themselves vacationing with you, annually, in the same spot? Does the city have enough to appeal to them as well as you? Remember when buying a vacation home you are purchasing your family's memories for years to come. Make sure those memories are tied to a location everyone loves.With a vacation home, you can build the memories that your family will cherish for a lifetime, and you will also be able to invest in your future financial security. Choose your location wisely, and you will find a vacation home is a welcome addition to your family.