Real Estate Companies

Should You Buy a Home or Just Keep Renting?

For a long time, conventional wisdom seemed to be that you grow up and buy a home because that’s just what you do. But lately, people are realizing that it isn’t always the smartest financial move. Obviously, the housing crisis has a lot to do with that—it’s made people question the standard assumption that homeownership equals financial stability.

Homeownership isn’t a good or bad idea on its own. It has everything to do with your own situation. Sometimes, buying a home is the smart thing to do; other times, it really isn’t. Whether or not it’s smart for you will depend on a few different factors. Here’s what you should keep in mind.

The biggest argument for owning a home is that it’s an “investment.” But a lot of people tend to overestimate the return on this investment.

People tend to believe that homes are appreciating assets, but this isn’t always true. Overall, the housing market doesn’t have a great long-term return. It barely outpaces inflation, in fact.

Displaying 1 - 57 of 57
@ccess Real Estate, 322 Gunnery Rd S Ste B, Lehigh Acres Fl 33973

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A-one-a Realty & Financial Services, 910 Citrus Ave S, Lehigh Acres Fl 33974

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Achievers Realty, 904 Lee Blvd Ste 101, Lehigh Acres Fl 33936

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Affinity Residential & Property Management, 5280 Lee Blvd Unit B, Lehigh Acres F More ...

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Alfred Homes Realty, 327 Beachwood Ave, Lehigh Acres Fl 33936

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American's First Choice, 409 8th Ave, Lehigh Acres Fl 33972

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Beach Paradise Realty, 234 David Ave, Lehigh Acres Fl 33936

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Cd & Co Sales And Rentals, 2025 Golfside Village Dr, Lehigh Acres Fl 33936

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Century 21 Sunbelt Realty, 4519 Lee Blvd, Lehigh Acres Fl 33971

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Circle Realty And Investments Corp, 881 Porter St E, Lehigh Acres Fl 33974

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Coldwell Banker Preferred Properties Of Lee County, 1400 Homestead Rd N, Lehigh More ...

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Deckard Enterprises, 339 Harry Ave S, Lehigh Acres Fl 33973

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Dragonfly Properties & Investments, 1130 Lee Blvd Ste E, Lehigh Acres Fl 33936

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Elite Residential Realty, 1013 Alfreda Ave, Lehigh Acres Fl 33971

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Finncore, 613 Roosevelt Ave, Lehigh Acres Fl 33936

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Florida Global Professional Realty, 18391 Pine Nut Ct, Lehigh Acres Fl 33972

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Florida Real Estate Marketing Services, Po Box 429, Lehigh Acres Fl 33970

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Florida Timeshare Pro, 231 Joel Blvd, Lehigh Acres Fl 33936

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Gulf Coast Elite Realty, 8633 Athena Ct, Lehigh Acres Fl 33971

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Hometown Realty Of Southwest Florida, Po Box 69, Lehigh Acres Fl 33970

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Housing Connection, 2224 Hampstead Ct, Lehigh Acres Fl 33973

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I & E Realty, Po Box 1361, Lehigh Acres Fl 33970

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Landex Realty, 1100 Homestead Rd N, Lehigh Acres Fl 33936

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Lapon Realty, 302 Lee Blvd Ste 105, Lehigh Acres Fl 33936

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Lehigh Showcase Properties, 25 Homestead Rd N Ste 11, Lehigh Acres Fl 33936

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Majestic Realty Services, 350 Homestead Rd S, Lehigh Acres Fl 33936

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Marco Beach Realty Discount Brokers, Po Box 292, Lehigh Acres Fl 33970

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Marigold Real Estate, 1150 Lee Blvd, Lehigh Acres Fl 33936

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Market America Realty Network, 3507 Lee Blvd Ste 212, Lehigh Acres Fl 33971

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Mayers Realty Group, Po Box 1484, Lehigh Acres Fl 33970

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Mgr Realty Services, 2915 23rd St W, Lehigh Acres Fl 33971

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National Loss Mitigation And Property Management Services, Po Box 69, Lehigh Acr More ...

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Outback Realty, 5781 Lee Blvd # 208-426, Lehigh Acres Fl 33971

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Preferred Properties Of Lee County, 1400 Homestead Rd N, Lehigh Acres Fl 33936

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Rc Real Estate Services, 5580 8th St W Unit 10, Lehigh Acres Fl 33971

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Real Estate Executives, 403 Joan Ave N Ste B, Lehigh Acres Fl 33971

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Realty World C Bagans First, 30 Colorado Rd, Lehigh Acres Fl 33936

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Referrals Of Lee County, 30 Colorado Rd Ste C, Lehigh Acres Fl 33936

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Richard L Thompkins, 1506 Greenwood Ave, Lehigh Acres Fl 33972

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Richardson Homes, 5471 Lee St Unit 101, Lehigh Acres Fl 33971

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Rome International Realty, 1000 Lee Blvd Ste 208, Lehigh Acres Fl 33936

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S B I Corp, 1100 Homestead Rd N, Lehigh Acres Fl 33936

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Sealco Group, Po Box 512, Lehigh Acres Fl 33970

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Signet Real Estate, Po Box 1077, Lehigh Acres Fl 33970

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Sonia Rios Realty, 1420 Lee Blvd, Lehigh Acres Fl 33936

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South Seas Realty & Investments, 813 Chaplin Billings St, Lehigh Acres Fl 33971

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Special Purpose Realty, 1819 Canton Ave, Lehigh Acres Fl 33972

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Sun & Comfort Management, Po Box 993, Lehigh Acres Fl 33970

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Sunny Florida Realty, 420 Lee Blvd, Lehigh Acres Fl 33936

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Sw Fl Reo Realty, 5136 Butte St, Lehigh Acres Fl 33971

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Swfl Turn Key Management, 301 Gretchen Ave S, Lehigh Acres Fl 33973

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Tannassee Realty, 1003 Leeland Heights Blvd W, Lehigh Acres Fl 33936

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Tattoo R E Property Management, 1140 Lee Blvd Ste 110, Lehigh Acres Fl 33936

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Team Realty Of Swfl, 4207 Lee Blvd, Lehigh Acres Fl 33971

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Trinity Real Estate Holdings, Po Box 1566, Lehigh Acres Fl 33970

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Verson Realty Group, 5624 8th St W Ste 112, Lehigh Acres Fl 33971

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Villastate Realty, 620 Lake Ave, Lehigh Acres Fl 33972

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Over the past 100 years, home prices have only grown at a compound annual rate of 0.3%, adjusted for inflation. The S&P 500, on the other hand, has had an annual return of 6.5%. That’s a big difference.

While that single real estate asset might help protect you against inflation, a well-balanced stock and bond portfolio seems to be a better investment. But a lot of people’s portfolios are mostly made up of their home value. You wouldn’t put 80 percent of your portfolio in a bond simply to protect against inflation (unless maybe you were nearing retirement) so why would your home make up that same amount? That’s the argument against buying a home as investment.

When making the decision it is important to understand that buying a home might not be a great financial investment and to not forgo all of your investable assets in order to purchase a home because you are really purchasing a right to housing and not a long-term investment designed to generate income.

Most experts agree that while housing is an investment, it’s not a great investment. So if this is your only basis for buying a home, it’s probably not the best one.

Decide How Much You Can Afford: In deciding whether you can afford to buy, you’ll have to figure out how much home you’re planning on buying in the first place. One rule of thumb for figuring out this number: your home should cost no more than 2.5 times your salary. Of course, this just gives you a ballpark figure. It doesn’t consider your net worth.

Weigh the Opportunity Cost of Renting Versus Buying: While your home might not be the best investment, in the end, it’s still yours. Even if it barely outpaces inflation, at the end of the day, you own it, and that’s worth something. When you rent, you own nothing—the money is given to someone else. So lots of people argue that you should own a home because one day, you’ll pay that home off and it’ll be yours, rather than continuing to pay rent for the rest of your life.




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