Why do Americans continue to favor real estate? Explore homeownership, wealth building, and what it means for South Bay buyers.
If you’ve been wondering whether buying a home is still worth it—especially with South Bay home prices, mortgage rates, and affordability all part of the conversation—you’re not alone. It’s one of the questions I hear most often from buyers in Cupertino, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, San Jose, and throughout Santa Clara County.
My answer always starts with a diagnosis, not a sales pitch. Like a doctor evaluating the full picture before recommending a treatment plan, I believe we should look at your goals, timeline, finances, and the market data before deciding whether homeownership makes sense for you. But when we zoom out and look at the long-term data, one thing is clear: Americans continue to place a remarkable amount of confidence in real estate.
Real Estate Is Still America’s Favorite Long-Term Investment
For the 14th consecutive year, Gallup’s annual survey found that real estate was the investment Americans considered the best long-term option, ranking ahead of stocks, gold, savings accounts, and bonds.
Fourteen years is a meaningful stretch of time.
Think about everything the economy and housing market have experienced during that period: changing interest rates, stock market volatility, inflation, shifting home prices, and plenty of uncertainty. Through it all, real estate has remained at the top of the list.
That doesn’t mean real estate is risk-free, and it certainly doesn’t mean every property or every purchase is automatically a good investment. But it does reflect the long-term role homeownership has historically played in building wealth.
A home can provide more than a place to live. Over time, homeowners may build equity through paying down their mortgage and through potential appreciation in the property’s value.
That’s one reason homeownership has long been considered an important part of building financial security and, for many families, generational wealth.
What This Means for the South Bay Real Estate Market
Here in the South Bay real estate market, the conversation can feel especially important because the price of buying a home is significant.
Whether you’re exploring Santa Clara homes for sale, following Cupertino housing trends, or looking for a home in Sunnyvale or San Jose, buying is a major financial decision. That’s exactly why I don’t believe buyers should make decisions based solely on fear of missing out—or fear of buying at the wrong time.
The better approach is to understand the local market and your personal circumstances.
National headlines can tell us what is happening broadly, but Santa Clara County is made up of many micro-markets. A property in Cupertino can perform differently from one in Santa Clara. A home near a highly sought-after school boundary may have different demand than a similar property just a few miles away.
Real estate is local. Your investment decision should be, too.
Slower Price Growth Doesn’t Change the Long-Term Picture
You may see headlines or social media posts suggesting that home prices are falling and wonder whether that changes the value of homeownership.
The reality is more nuanced.
Nationally, home prices have continued to rise overall, although the pace of appreciation has slowed compared with the rapid gains of previous years. Some local markets have experienced small price adjustments, while others have remained more resilient.
That’s why looking at one headline—or even one year—is rarely enough to make a sound real estate decision.
Homeownership tends to work best as a long-term strategy. Historically, home values have generally appreciated over longer periods, even though markets can experience short-term fluctuations.
For a buyer considering the South Bay real estate market, the most important question isn’t simply, “Will prices go up next month?”
A more useful question is: “Does buying this home make sense for my life and financial plans over the time I expect to own it?”
That’s a much better diagnosis.
More Americans Are Choosing Buying Over Renting
Confidence in homeownership appears to be strengthening.
According to Bank of America’s latest Homebuyer Insights Report, 53% of respondents said it was better to buy a home than rent or live with family. That marked the first time buying had taken the lead since 2023.
The same report found that:
- 90% of respondents said a home is a valuable investment, up from 79% the prior year.
- 94% said owning a home provides stability, up from 83% the year before.
Those numbers suggest that, despite affordability challenges, people continue to see value in owning a home.
And that makes sense to me because buying a home is rarely only about the financial return.
Sunnyvale Home Buying Tips: Think Beyond Next Year’s Value
One of my favorite Sunnyvale home buying tips is to avoid treating a home purchase like a short-term stock trade.
Trying to perfectly predict what prices or mortgage rates will do over the next few months can be frustrating—and no one has a crystal ball. If we did, real estate would be much easier, and probably a lot less interesting.
Instead, I encourage buyers to focus on what they can evaluate today.
Can you comfortably afford the home? Does the location support your lifestyle? Does the property meet your needs now and for the next several years? Are you planning to stay long enough to benefit from the potential long-term advantages of homeownership?
If the answers align, short-term market fluctuations may matter less than having a home that supports your larger goals.
It’s About More Than Building Wealth
This is where real estate becomes different from many other investments.
A stock portfolio may potentially grow your wealth, but you can’t gather your family around the kitchen island inside a brokerage account.
A home can offer both financial and personal value.
For many homeowners, it’s where they build routines, relationships, and memories. It’s where children grow up, where friends gather, and where people create a space that reflects who they are.
Homeownership can also provide a sense of stability and connection to a community.
That’s especially true here in the South Bay, where choosing a home often means choosing much more than a property. Buyers may be considering neighborhoods, schools, commutes, parks, restaurants, and the lifestyle they want to create.
The financial side matters. But so does the life you’re building.
Cupertino Housing Trends: Why Local Data Matters
When clients ask me about Cupertino housing trends or whether a particular neighborhood is a good place to buy, I always bring the conversation back to specifics.
There is no single answer for every buyer.
The right home for one person may not be the right investment for another. Your budget, timeline, financing, property type, and future plans all matter.
That’s why my approach is personalized and data-driven. Before recommending a strategy, I want to understand the complete picture.
Are you a first-time buyer hoping to build equity? Are you moving up and planning to stay in your next home for 10 years? Are you looking for a property that may support multiple generations of your family?
Those different goals require different strategies.
Good Bay Area realtor advice isn’t about telling everyone to buy immediately. It’s about helping you understand the market, weigh the opportunities and risks, and make a decision that fits your life.
Bottom Line
For 14 years running, Americans have ranked real estate as their favorite long-term investment. At the same time, confidence in homeownership appears to be growing again.
That doesn’t mean buying is automatically the right choice for everyone or that timing doesn’t matter. But it does reinforce something I’ve seen throughout my real estate career: a thoughtfully chosen home can provide value in more ways than one.
It can be a place to live, a place to create stability, and over time, a potential tool for building equity and long-term wealth.
If you’re considering buying in Cupertino, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, San Jose, or elsewhere in Santa Clara County, let’s start with your personal situation—not a headline.
We’ll look at the local market, your goals, your timeline, and the numbers together to determine what may be possible. Sometimes the best first step isn’t deciding to buy. It’s getting a clear diagnosis and understanding your options.