Does it make sense to buy a house in today’s real estate market? It seems like everyone has an opinion to share on the subject. Most of what is being talked about when it comes to home buying today are doom and gloom scenarios focused on “high interest rates” and “escalating home prices.” Interest rates are certainly higher than they were a year ago and home prices have stayed strong due to lack of inventory. The combination of higher rates and current home prices does not mean that a buyer that needs or wants to buy a home should not; it means that home buyers today need to be smart about how they approach their home purchase.

I bought my first home in 1998 with a mortgage interest rate of 7.5%. I owned that house for 23 years, living in it for two years and then renting it out for the next 21. I sold that house in 2021 for close to four times what I bought it for. To date that house was one of the best investments I made in my real estate investment career. It fueled the purchase of a second property less than one year later. The income from the property helped subsidize my family’s expenses through unsure times. The lessons I learned from renting out that home were better than any education I could have paid for and paved the way for personally investing in hundreds of rental properties over my investment career. In 2021 I rolled the proceeds from the sale of that home into the purchase of a new rental property using a 1031 exchange. The new home purchased is now valued at over $1 million dollars. I didn’t buy my first home to get into real estate investing. I bought it because I needed a place to live …it was that simple. Rates were high. The house I purchased wasn’t perfect. I fumbled my way through fixing the house up on a budget. The biggest lesson it taught me was to get in the game. Over the past 25 years I have done all the things in real estate … buying primary residences, rental properties, second homes, land, multifamily, etc. I have built my own home as well as homes for other people. In 2015 I got my real estate license to help others make real estate work for them. I love to share my experience and help my clients make SMART real estate purchases. It is very possible to invest well in real estate in any market conditions.

investment property — Sarah’s first house that she sold in 2021 for over 4 times what she paid in 1998.

Call me weird but helping people navigate the complexities of real estate and invest well is one of my greatest joys. If you would like the benefit of my experience and the lessons that I have learned, I would love to have a conversation with you about how you can take your next step or first step in your real estate journey. Private message me or email me through the Sarah Lee Living website. I would love to chat!

Please email, call, or text me if you want to talk through what you need to be thinking about and how to best position yourself to make real estate work for you in this market 😊