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Seller's market concept art - Getty Images
In generations past young people had three distinct steps before them as they marched into the future after high school, college, or whatever form of training they had pursued:
- Find a good job that provides the financial support you’ll need moving forward. It matters less what kind of job it is as long as it meets your personal needs, offers room for advancement, and provides adequate financial support and growth potential.
- Find a partner with whom you think you can spend the rest of your life. Marry that person, or not.
- Find a place to set down roots and buy a house so your home life, community presence, and financial position have a starting point and, possibly, a finish line for that inevitable final step decades down the road. Plainly put, it’s a place you can call your own, with all the rights, responsibilities, and challenges that come with it.
But then life’s rarely that straightforward, and as time rolls on, so too the more complicated life becomes. But all of those cornerstone steps are important in whatever order they arrive, not the least of which is home ownership.
Pluses and minuses
Chances are where you are in your life right now—professionally, financially and geographically—is not the place you want to end up. Continuing to rent would give you the chance to make significant changes quickly and more easily without having a house weighing you down. Homeownership, after all, is a long-term investment.
But it’s the very hold the house has on you that requires taking a more disciplined approach to your life, as well as giving you a stronger financial basis in terms of the equity you own in the property. With each month’s mortgage payment, you own just a little more of the home, as well as gain more ability to tap the wealth you’re building through home equity loans so you can afford those other things that you’ve always wanted.
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In many cases, those loans may go to support the house itself. There is such a thing, especially among new homeowners, as being “house poor.” You can always postpone that Caribbean cruise, but if you need a new roof or your furnace dies in December you should remedy the problem right away. Lenders are more disposed to grant loans that will go right back into your asset—meaning your house—and that improvement, in turn, will increase the value of your property.
Milwaukee is a “Sellers” Market
Like real estate markets nationwide, the Milwaukee metro area continues to be a sellers’ market, which generally means there is more buyer demand than there are properties available. And, yes, that does make the sales price higher than it would be in a buyers’ market, where inventory outpaces demand. That often means lower purchase prices and, in Milwaukee’s case, a limited inventory of homes for sale.
According to Chicago-based Fulton Grace Realty, which monitors housing trends nationwide, the combination of lower property prices and steady economic growth makes Milwaukee one of the 10 most affordable large metro areas in the country, which is an advantage to both sellers and buyers. Neighborhoods like Walker’s Point and Bay View, especially, offer lower-priced properties and steady development expenditures that will help boost the overall value of those properties down the road.
Life is not going to get any easier nor property prices any lower, making now the time for first-time buyers to take what will be one of the most significant financial leaps of their lives. The average home price in the Milwaukee metro area is $229,887, Fulton Grace says. That’s a price lower than most metro markets. Moreover, Milwaukee real estate prices have increased 8.2% during the last year, driving up sales by 12%, all of which bodes well for the future.
Now Is the Time
Plainly put, a home purchase is the largest investment many people will make in their lives and as mentioned earlier, it’s a critical cornerstone on which to grow wealth for you and for your family. True, you will have to start paying property taxes and set aside money for necessary home maintenance over time. But it also gives you a place to live—one that you presumably like going in—and freedom to turn that space into whatever form you may like.
Moreover, according to a 2024 study from the Aspen Institute, the average homeowner’s net worth nationwide is $400,000, compared with just $10,400 for the average renter. A lot of that is in the value of the home they own.
As they say, you need money to make money. If you can gather a downpayment, cover closing costs, and find an affordable home in an acceptable neighborhood that you like and can maybe learn to love, then now is the time to find a home and start building wealth. The Caribbean cruise will always be there.
