He has demolished the existing homes on the enormous property, according to the New York Post, and intends to spend up to $400 million on a mega estate that will include a luxury spa, a massive swimming pool with ocean views, guest housing and more. In total, the project is expected to be worth an estimated $1 billion upon completion.
This may be hard for some people to swallow, given how difficult it is for many Americans to even buy a starter home in today’s tough economy.
But even if you’re priced out of the housing market today, there are still ways to think like a billionaire, diversify your portfolio, and build wealth through real estate investments.
Priced out of the market
The sad truth is that while Griffin plans his record-setting Florida mega mansion, many Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, unsure if they’ll manage to make the next month’s rent — let alone buy a house. Home ownership is growing increasingly out of reach for a significant proportion of the U.S. population due to sky-high mortgage rates and house prices.
For several weeks, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate has hovered close to 8%. On top of those significant borrowing costs, house prices are so high today that prospective buyers in the U.S. need an annual income of almost $115,000 just to afford a median-priced home. That is around $40,000 more than the median household income.
This is why many Americans are renting instead of buying property at the moment, especially as the average monthly mortgage payment on a new home is now 52% higher than the average apartment rent, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal, based on data from real estate firm CBRE.
Even rich young Americans — with the cash to buy — are renting because they don’t want to shackle themselves to the astronomical costs of home ownership and would rather allocate their hard-earned dollars to smart investments.
Build real estate riches (without billions of dollars)
Investing in real estate is not reserved solely for high-net-worth individuals like Griffin — although it does get easier as your coffers grow deeper. Anyone can get a piece of the real estate pie and you don’t necessarily need to splash the cash to do so.
