Investing is like life: nothing ventured, nothing gained.
If you’re planning to buy a home, you probably have good reasons for your decision. It may be that you share the feeling that owning your own home is a key part of the American dream. But there are also financial issues involved in buying real estate that you need to consider as well.
From one perspective, a home is an investment, maybe the single largest one you’ll ever make. Like certain other investments, real estate has the potential to increase in value over the years, so that you can sell it for more than you paid. It can also lose value, sometimes dramatically. If you need to sell when real estate prices have dropped, you may have to settle for a lower price than you’d like, or even less than you paid to buy the home.
But unlike investing in equities such as stock or mutual funds, which you buy as a way to achieve your financial goals, most people consider owning a home as an end in itself.
Reasons to Buy
There are strong emotional reasons for buying a home — and potentially stronger financial reasons. Owning can help you feel grounded, and part of a community. It can provide a sense of accomplishment and a place to build family traditions. Often, you have more space than you would in a rental unit that costs the same amount of money. And owning can save you money.
Check out affordability calculators and more information here.
