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Invest with a mortgage

The average rate for a 30-year mortgage was 3.65% in 2012. These days, a 30-year fixed mortgage rate is around 6.86%

So, Buffett would probably be a little bit less jazzed on home buying in 2025.

That said, markets are cyclical. Usually — or at least in the world of interest rates — what goes up will eventually come down.

No matter what happens to interest rates, you’ll want to ensure you’re shopping around for the best rate possible — because the search really does pay off.

According to research from Freddie Mac, borrowers who applied for mortgages from two lenders saved up to $600 annually. If they applied for four or more, those cost savings doubled to $1,200 every year.

For an efficient way to shop for rates, Mortgage Research Center (MRC) helps you quickly compare rates and estimate your monthly payments from multiple vetted lenders. All you have to do is enter some basic information about yourself, such as your zip code, your desired property type, price range and annual income.

Based on the information you provide, MRC will show you mortgage offers tailored to your needs. After you match with a desired lender, you can set up a free, no-obligation consultation to see if you’ve found the right fit.

For those refinancing an existing mortgage, MRC can even help you find a better rate than what you currently have.

Become a landlord without the work

Buffett also clarified that in his dream world of buying all of those homes, he’d need to find an easy way to manage them as investments, too.

Several real estate crowdfunding platforms are currently stripping out the management and admin that’s usually required when you invest in real estate. This can make it easier than ever to tap into the real estate market.

For accredited investors, Homeshares gives access to the $34.9 trillion U.S. home equity market, which has historically been the exclusive playground of institutional investors.

With a minimum investment of $25,000, investors can gain direct exposure to hundreds of owner-occupied homes in top U.S. cities through their U.S. Home Equity Fund — without the headaches of buying, owning or managing property.

With risk-adjusted internal returns ranging from 12% to 18%, this approach provides an effective, hands-off way to invest in owner-occupied residential properties across regional markets.

Another option is targeted investments in hot real estate markets. Arrived has simplified the process, making it easy and accessible for everyday investors through the Seattle City Fund.

The fund takes a strategic advantage of Seattle, a global business hub and home to some of the world’s most influential companies, including Amazon, Microsoft, Starbucks and Boeing. Potential returns are generated through rental income and any appreciation in the value of properties within the fund. The average home value in Seattle is over $910,000, with a 10-year average appreciation of 95.5%, according to Redfin.com

The Seattle City Fund lets you capitalize on the city’s steady growth and increasing property values, giving you diversification across multiple properties. Each home in the fund is projected to have equity ranging from $800,000 to $900,000.

Then there’s commercial real estate. As an investment, it’s even more challenging to access and manage. And while some commercial investment opportunities are expected to witness weaker growth in 2025, they are not all one-and-the-same. Real estate for essential businesses, like grocery stores and health care facilities, is still popular because it has proven resilient to the broader e-commerce transition.

And First National Realty Partners allows accredited individual investors to access these types of necessity-based, institutional-quality commercial real estate investments — without having to do the research or manage tenants.

The FNRP team has relationships with the nation’s largest essential-needs brands, including Kroger, Walmart and Whole Foods, and provides insights into the best properties both on and off-market. And since the investments are necessity-based, they tend to perform well during times of economic volatility and act as a hedge against inflation.

You can engage with experts, explore deals, and easily make an allocation, all in one personalized portal.

Gemma Lewis Freelance Contributor

Gemma Lewis is a freelance contributor with her CFA UK Certificate in Investment Management. She has navigated the ever-evolving world of financial technology as both a product manager and investment analyst, having earned her Master’s of Business from the University of St Andrews, and Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University. Her writing and commentary has been featured across top-tier publications, including Forbes, the BBC, Financial Times, Telegraph, Yahoo!, Motley Fool, and Fortune. If she's not writing, she's either reading, or running around and exploring the great outdoors.

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