4 Advantages Homeownership Offers Over Renting


To explain the true cost of not owning a home, I have the top four advantages homeownership provides that renting doesn’t.

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search

There are four main advantages to buying a home that, as a renter, you can’t enjoy. 

First, there are five great financial benefits: 


  • Homeownership is a form of forced savings. 
  • It provides tax savings. 
  • Homeownership allows you to lock in your monthly housing costs.
  • Buying a home today, on a national scale, is cheaper than renting. 
  • No other investment vehicle lets you live inside it. 


Second, studies have shown that homeowners have, on average, 44 times the amount of wealth that renters do. 


The average homeowner has 44 times the wealth that the average renter does.


Third, if you purchase a home with an average purchase price in 2017, you can build more than $48,000 in family wealth over the next five years. 

Finally, some people argue that renting eliminates the cost of taxes and home repairs, but any expenses the landlord incurs are included in the rent payment. 


If you are renting, I hope you have a greater appreciation of the value of homeownership. If you have any questions about the cost of not owning a home or you’re curious what it would take for you to buy a home, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.

The Truth Behind Rising Home Prices


Why are home prices on the rise locally and nationally? I’ll explain the real reason to you today.



Why are home prices increasing? I did a little research and am excited to uncover the real reason for you today.

Ultimately, it all boils down to supply and demand. I’m not trying to oversimplify things; this really is what’s happening at the local and national level.

As you can see in the chart in the video above, anything less than six months of inventory is considered a seller’s market. In this kind of market, home prices will go up.

A market with six or seven months of inventory is considered a neutral market. Home prices will only appreciate with inflation. We have not had a neutral market in quite a while.

Anything above seven months of inventory puts us in a buyer’s market. Since there is an oversupply of inventory, prices start to go down.

We have been in a seller’s market for the last five years.

Here in Richmond, inventory levels tend to vary by location. The further out you get from the city, the more these numbers get skewed. At the national level, however, we have been in a seller’s market for the past four or five years.

According to the National Association of Realtors, there are only 3.9 months of inventory for sale. That is the reason that home prices are going up.

It looks like we will remain in a seller’s market for the foreseeable future.

Again, here in Richmond, inventory can vary from area to area. If you have any questions about inventory levels in your specific neighborhood, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!