Should You Buy a Home Right Now? Here’s What I Tell Every Client.
Every spring, the same question starts showing up in my calendar.
“Shouldn’t I just buy already?”
Sometimes it’s a client who’s been renting for years and feels like time is slipping by.
Sometimes it’s someone who just got a promotion and thinks now feels like the right moment to plant a flag.
And sometimes it’s someone who genuinely isn’t sure—they just know that spring feels like housing season, and they don’t want to miss it.
I get it. I really do.
But here’s what I am seeing today in most cases:
If you own a home, stay where you are.
If you’re renting, keep renting.
And here’s why.
The Numbers Aren’t Telling a Buying Story Right Now
I’ve looked at the math from a lot of different angles.
Mortgage rates. Purchase prices. What renting the equivalent space actually costs. What that difference in monthly cash outflow could be doing in an investment account instead.
And right now, in most markets—especially the kind of high-cost areas where many of my clients live—the numbers are not making a compelling case for buying.
People hear that and push back.
“But renting is throwing money away.”
I’ll be direct: that’s one of the most persistent myths in personal finance, and it has cost a lot of people a lot of money.
Renting is not throwing money away. Renting is paying for housing. Every month you own a home, you’re also paying for property taxes, insurance, maintenance, and the opportunity cost of a down payment that could be working for you somewhere else.
Ownership has real value—over the long term, in the right market, at the right price. But the question isn’t whether homeownership is good in the abstract.
The question is whether buying right now, at today’s prices and today’s rates, makes financial sense for you.
For most of my clients in 2026? The answer is no.
A Client Asked Me Something I Couldn’t Ignore
A few months ago, a client pushed back on my advice in a way I thought was completely fair.
She looked at me and said: “You’re telling me to keep renting. But you own your home. How does that work?”
She was right to ask.
So I gave her the honest answer: I bought my house in 2019.
The world looked very different in 2019.
Rates were different. Purchase prices were different. The math pointed somewhere different than it does today.
My advice isn’t “never buy a home.” My advice is that buying doesn’t make sense right now—for most people, in most markets—given where things actually stand.
If I were in my clients’ shoes today, I’d be renting.
That’s what it means to be a player-coach. I’m not going to tell you something different than what I’d do myself if I were sitting where you are.
Why Prices Aren’t Coming Back Down
The next question I almost always get: “Well, should I just wait for prices to crash?”
Here’s my honest read on that.
I don’t think we’re heading for a crash back to pre-pandemic prices. Not unless the economy takes a much harder turn than I’m currently expecting—and frankly, a scenario bad enough to cause that would bring its own set of problems you wouldn’t want to deal with either.
What’s holding prices up is actually pretty straightforward: supply and demand.
A large percentage of homeowners—especially Baby Boomers—are sitting on:
Low mortgage rates
Significant home equity
No urgency to sell
They’re not moving. And when supply stays constrained, prices don’t fall easily—even when affordability is stretched.
Could inventory increase over time? Yes. Demographics will eventually shift. Life events will force movement.
But here’s the part most people miss:
You can’t build a strategy around when that happens.
Because waiting for the “perfect moment” in housing is no different than waiting for the perfect moment in markets— it sounds smart, but rarely works in practice.
The better question isn’t: “Will prices come down?”
It’s: “Does buying today make sense for my financial life—or not?”
Because that’s the part you can actually control.
The One Exception That Actually Makes Sense
I don’t believe in blanket rules. There’s almost always an exception, and housing is no different.
The one scenario where buying has made real financial sense for my clients lately is relocation.
Specifically: moving from a high-cost market to a meaningfully cheaper one.
I had a client who was living in North Jersey. The numbers for buying there—at current prices and rates—just didn’t work. But they were considering a move to Pennsylvania, where prices were significantly lower. The math in that context looked completely different.
Same income. Same financial profile. Different zip code.
Buying made sense there because the cost of ownership relative to income and alternatives was in a reasonable range.
That’s the kind of situation where the numbers support moving forward. Not because someone wanted to buy, but because the math actually agreed.
What to Do With the Money Instead
If you’re staying put—in your rental, in your current home—the more important question becomes: what are you doing with your financial energy?
Because the down payment you’re not spending? That’s capital. It deserves a plan.
The difference between someone who builds lasting wealth and someone who spins their wheels often isn’t income. It’s whether the money they’re not spending is being put to work intentionally.
A few questions worth sitting with:
✔ Is your savings and investment strategy actually built around your current housing situation?
✔ If you’re saving toward a future down payment, is that money sitting in the right place?
✔ If you own and aren’t moving, are you making the most of the equity and cash flow you already have?
✔ Has your overall financial picture been reviewed against where the housing market actually stands today?
These aren’t trick questions. They’re the conversations I’m having with clients every week.
Because housing is never just about housing. It’s about your whole financial picture—your income, your savings, your equity comp, your long-term goals.
And when all of that is connected and intentional, you make better decisions. Not just on housing. On everything.
The Bottom Line
Spring feels like the time to buy a home. The listings go up. The open houses start. Everyone around you seems to be making moves.
But the best financial decisions don’t come from the calendar.
They come from the numbers.
Right now, the numbers are telling most of my clients to stay patient. Stay put. Keep their cash working. And wait for a moment when the math actually supports the move—not just the season.
That moment may come. It’s not here yet for most people.
And knowing the difference? That’s not pessimism.
That’s discipline.
Building wealth is by choice, not chance.
If you’d like to talk through whether your housing situation makes sense as part of your bigger financial picture, I’m happy to do that together. To schedule a meeting, call (201) 408-4644, email info@juliuswealth.com, or get in touch online.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is renting really better than buying right now?
For many cases, right now, for high earners in most markets in 2026, yes—the math often supports renting. That doesn’t mean homeownership is bad or that you’ll never buy. It means that right now, at current prices and rates, the cost of ownership often doesn’t compare favorably to renting the equivalent space and deploying the difference elsewhere. At Julius Wealth Advisors, we run this analysis for clients in real numbers—not based on general sentiment, but based on their actual income, market, and goals.
Will housing prices ever come down to pre-pandemic levels?
It’s unlikely without a severe economic downturn—and that’s not something most people would want to bet on. The supply-demand dynamics keeping prices elevated (low inventory, Baby Boomers holding their homes, ongoing housing demand) don’t reverse overnight. Prices can soften or stabilize over time, and certain markets will behave differently than others. What we help clients do at Julius Wealth Advisors is make decisions based on today’s reality, not a market scenario that may or may not materialize.
How do I know if buying actually makes financial sense for my situation?
The honest answer is: you run the numbers. Compare the true cost of ownership—mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance, opportunity cost of the down payment—against what renting the equivalent space costs you today. Then factor in your income stability, equity compensation, savings rate, and long-term goals. If that analysis still points toward buying, it might be the right call. If it doesn’t, you have your answer. This is exactly the kind of analysis we walk through with clients at Julius Wealth Advisors as part of our 360° Wealth process—so you can make a decision you’ll feel confident about, not one driven by seasonal pressure.
If I’m not buying a home, what should I be doing with that money?
That’s the right question to be asking. Capital that isn’t going into a down payment is capital that can be working for you—in an investment portfolio, a taxable brokerage account, or a structured savings strategy tied to your actual goals. The specific answer depends on your timeline, tax situation, equity compensation, and what else is going on in your financial picture. What matters is that the money has a plan. Idle capital often doesn’t align with long-term wealth building. This is the kind of conversation we have regularly with clients at Julius Wealth Advisors as part of building a comprehensive financial picture.
About Jason
Jason Blumstein, CFA, is the founder and CEO of Julius Wealth Advisors, an independent boutique RIA serving clients nationwide from Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. His passion for investing began at just 10 years old, when his grandfather Julius turned off the cartoons, turned on CNBC, and began teaching him about stocks, discipline, and the values that build a meaningful life.
Shaped by early family financial hardship and inspired by Julius’s integrity and generosity, Jason built a career by gaining experience with PwC, Morgan Stanley, and J.P. Morgan. With a mission of offering transparent, education-forward planning rooted in Integrity, Knowledge, and Passion, Jason founded Julius Wealth Advisors in 2021. The firm operates in a fiduciary, client-aligned model built around long-term partnership.
Building Wealth Is By Choice, Not Chance
Today, Jason partners with High Earners, Not Wealthy Yet (HENWY) families ages 35–50, helping them build long-term, sustainable wealth through disciplined planning, deeply personal guidance, and analytical rigor he gained as a CFA® charterholder. He is known for his boutique, high-touch service, and for the educational clarity he brings to every conversation through The Big Bo $how podcast and Wealth of Knowledge blog.
Outside the office, Jason is a proud husband and father of two. He loves all sports, working out, watching the NFL (he has a complicated relationship with the Dolphins), rooting for the Mets, and staying active—a continuation of his college football days. To learn more about Jason, connect with him on LinkedIn.
This piece contains general information that is not suitable for everyone and was prepared for informational purposes only. Nothing contained herein should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any security or as an offer to provide investment advice. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but the accuracy of the information cannot be guaranteed. Past performance does not guarantee any future results. The information in this material is not intended as tax or legal advice. Please consult legal or tax professionals for specific information regarding your individual situation. For additional information about Julius Wealth Advisors, including its services and fees, contact us or visit adviserinfo.sec.gov.