Besides being the ultimate “American Dream”, buying a home is one of the best long-term investments you can make. According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI), U.S. home prices rose an average of 34.71% over the five-year period ending Dec. 31, 2017. On average, homeowners saw the value of their real estate investment grow by 6.94% per year during that period.

That’s not a bad return on an investment that also provides you with a place to live