Not Buying a House Can Make You a Better Person

You’ve probably heard that buying a house is a great way to build wealth or investing in real estate can make you Millions but you may be one of the millions of people saying, “No thanks! It’s not because of mortgage rates, or a pending market crash, or that you’re trying to time the market. It’s because when you think about it, you have so much uncertainty and anxiety about buying a house, that you should not buy a house. And That’s okay! Because despite what you hear real estate gurus and Youtube financial advisors saying about the real estate market, not buying a house can make you a better person.

Not everyone should buy a house right now, and if you’re someone who’s feeling that, this article is for you. You should also know that you’re not alone because a lot of people are feeling the same way. Because let’s get real, buying a house right now is really tough for a lot of people, and the anxiety and stress that the home buying process can have is as high as home prices.

The good news is, not buying a house right now can actually allow you to do many other things in your life that can be more beneficial to you as a person instead of buying a house. There are so many reasons not to buy a house, and it’s not just money and financial stuff which I’m going to talk about. If any of these reasons resonate with you, it might be a good idea to put owning a home on the back burner while you address all the other things you can do instead.

Why You Should Not Buy a House

FOMO

Do not buy a house just because you think this is the one and only time you’re going to have a good opportunity or because all the gurus are telling you that now is the best time to buy a house because people are going to make good home buying decisions 50 years from now too. This is called FOMO and you feel like, if I don’t do this now, I’m going to miss out, and I’m not going to have this opportunity again and that’s just not true. 

Of course the biggest reason for FOMO was all time low rates, which we’ve never seen before and we’ll never see again – which we actually don’t know because we can predict the future! Mortgage rates alone are not the reason you buy a house weather they’re high or low. I’m here to tell you that’s not your make or break decision making factor.

Housing Supply

The other thing was and still is the housing supply issue. You know we’re not building enough houses, investors are buying all the affordable houses with cash, and you think, “I’ll never be able to afford a normal house like my parents.” Which again is not true even though it does seem like that sometimes.

What I want you to know is that all this stuff will pass, the low rates have already passed we all know that, but the high prices, inventory issues, affordable housing issues all that will improve because there’s such a big opportunity in solving the affordable housing issue, although it will take some time.

Personal and Professional Flexibility

I know that for me when I was younger, I was absolutely more concerned with being mobile and not taking on any added obligations. If you’re someone who wants to be traveling every weekend, or you think you want to live in different cities, travel constantly and see the world, you don’t want to be tied down to a house.

More realistically, if you have a job that might take you to another city, you want to be willing and able to take those opportunities without having to consider what to do with a house that you just bought. 
Of course remote work plays a bigger role in your job and your career path so don’t buy a house and be obligated to the house if you’re being pulled in some other direction in your personal or professional life.

Repairs and Maintenance

Going back to responsibility, regardless of your age, maybe you just have enough responsibility as it is. If you own a home, you’re taking on the responsibility of spending time and money fixing and maintaining that property. That’s just the way it is when you own a home and if you’re not ready to commit to that, don’t take on that responsibility. Do you need a yard, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, an old roof and a furnace to worry about? If not, then don’t buy a house.

I know a lot of people get frustrated because they can’t purchase a home in the location that they want to be in. You might need to live close to work or you might just want to live in a certain area which you really can’t afford to purchase a home. That’s okay, if you want to be in a certain area but the only option is to rent, then rent until you want or need to figure something out. Don’t beat yourself up just because you can’t buy a million dollar house in the cool part of town.

Housing Affordability

Can you pay less in rent and have everything you need without taking on the debt and responsibility of buying a home? Okay then rent. Or live with your parents and save some money. Mortgage rates and home prices are high right now and affordability is low and buying a home is a challenge that is the way it is right now. There’s some things you can’t control, but that doesn’t mean that a home will be unaffordable for you in the future, so don’t worry about it. However, you can prepare yourself for the future.

Stress and Anxiety

If you are someone who worries about the market, the economy, your job – if these things give you lots of stress and the idea of buying a house leads to a political conversation – maybe just hold off on the house and work on lowering your stress levels.

What You Can Do Instead

Invest In Yourself

If you don’t buy a house, think about all the things you can do instead! Buying a house is a big deal. it’s a big investment and if you’re not ready, invest in yourself instead.  Maybe instead of putting time and resources into buying a home, you put that effort into going to school, advancing your career, or a number of other personal development activities you want to pursue.

If you are advancing your career or think you might need or want to move for work, well you’ll obviously want to figure that out first and not have to worry about missing your chance to own a home. If you are someone who’s enjoying being unmarried, having no kids, and no responsibility – live it up! Enjoy that part of your life because after a certain age, that lifestyle ends as it should. 

Plan For the Future

During the time when you’re working on yourself, working on your career, experiencing the world and having fun, you also have the opportunity to save money, work on credit, and plan for the future. Everyone asks should I buy now or wait? The answer is so personal, but there are lots of reasons not to buy right now depending on who you are and what you’re doing. At some point you may want to purchase a home for many good reasons, and when you’re ready there’s going to be a house and a mortgage program waiting for you. 

Now you might say well all that’s fine and dandy but I do want to buy and it just seems like the market and the economy are all working against me because it seems impossible. It’s important to remember that when our view of our situation is zoomed in and all we can see is high rates, high home prices, no inventory – it seems like this challenging environment will never end.

But when you zoom out and see all of the things that are going to happen in the next 3, 5, 10 years and the market will change just like you  – job promotion, marriage, credit, home prices, technology, all that stuff is going to look different and I like to think it will be better as long as we’re improving ourselves along the way.

As for the future of the housing market specifically, I think you see more housing inventory, better affordability, and a better situation for you, the home buyer, in the future. Regardless, I believe your future is what you make of it. There’s no fault in waiting to purchase a house if you want to become a better person first – whatever that means to you.