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Is it still worth buying a HOME in 2025?

My clients moved out of state for a job.

They rented first, loved it, and recently asked what I thought about them buying a home.

So let's address home ownership - is it still attractive in 2025? 

The pros:

✅ Forced savings account through equity building.
(paying down your mortgage vs a landlord's mortgage)

✅ Generally an inflation-protected asset.
✅ leveraged asset appreciation. (least understood benefit)
(Any home appreciation you enjoy is for the full value, rather than the much smaller amount you "invested" as a down payment.

✅ Stability for your family, not subject to landlord selling/raising rent.

The Cons

 

â›” Home prices at 5-6 x household income vs 3-4 x. (50y average)
â›” Rising or unavailable insurance in tandem with climate events.
â›” 7% mortgage.
â›” Rising property taxes by cash-strapped municipalities.
â›” Maintenance responsibilities.
â›” Inflation-driven high cost of maintenance.
â›” Reduced flexibility to act if you need to move for any reason.

My Verdict:

💡 The longer the time of expected ownership, the better.
Consider Job Outlook, Income redundancy, kids, or the degree of established relationships.

💡 Assess the risk of climate events in your area/state.
If insurance becomes untenable or unavailable, your asset becomes a huge liability, that may be hard to sell.

💡 Pay attention to the age and condition of the home.
Recent inflation has hit services especially hard.

💡 Pay attention to property taxes.
Aside from the actual tax, check the trajectory of price hikes as well as the finances of the collecting entity.

If you can check these boxes, then homeownership remains one of the best and most proven ways to build wealth.
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If you are considering homeownership, I can help you ask the right questions and look at the numbers.

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Homeownership pros and cons
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