I'll tell you the difference between buying an existing house and buying CBA shares: the CBA shares offer a fat dividend yield, fully franked, that provides a better return than the bank. The house provides a net yield of about 3%. People buying houses are either morons, or expecting capital gains in excess of GDP growth. By definition - buying assets with the intention that they'll go up in price, not to mention not being concerned by uneconomic yields - that is speculation.
If you can't agree with not just me, but also any economist who isn't hopelessly conflicted, that's not a nod to your intellect, even if you find me abrasive (which is clearly the nub of your responses to me - even when I tried to be conciliatory).
