Feb 12, 2025
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Add us on GoogleWith multiple Grand Slam titles, Olympic gold medals and business ventures, Venus Williams is a trailblazer both on and off the tennis court. Her journey from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of professional sports is one of hard work and perseverance.
However, Williams has some “very controversial” advice for others chasing their dreams: delay homeownership.
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“I don’t think owning your house is the American dream,” she told personal finance expert Vivian Tu of “Your Rich BFF” fame in an interview for SoFi posted Sept. 24. Both Tu and Williams are paid promoters of the finance company.
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Buying a home, according to the tennis legend, should only be done under specific circumstances. Here’s a closer look at her reasoning.
Doing the math
“You should own the house once you’ve done everything else,” Williams explained. “Once you’ve invested your money, once it’s working for you, then maybe buy the house.”
There’s nothing wrong with setting homeownership as a goal, she emphasized, but Williams encourages Americans to do the math projecting their long-term finances.
“Instead of putting that $100,000, $200,000 on that down payment, should you just rent a place and invest that money? You should compare the returns,” she said.
Homeownership has traditionally been considered a key step to financial success. A survey commissioned by US. Mortgage Insurers in August found that 78% of Americans consider owning a home to be very important, with 39% saying it’s essential for stability and 35% believing it to be a good investment.
But despite the advantages of homeownership, it’s less expensive to rent a starter home than to buy one. According to a July report by Realtor.com, renting comes with an average monthly savings of $1,067 in the top 50 metros in the U.S.
Not only are renters able to save more, but that extra cash can be put toward assets that have arguably performed better than housing in recent years.
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Investing vs. homebuying
Over the last five years, as of the fourth quarter of 2024, the median sales price of a house in America surged from $327,100 to $419,200, per the St. Louis Fed — a return of 28% over that time. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 index soared around 80% over a similar period, not including dividends.
Simply put, stocks have outperformed housing lately. In fact, housing has underperformed against other assets, too. The price of gold, for example, has appreciated around 80% over the last five years.
Of course, past performance is not an indicator of future returns. Just because housing has underperformed other asset classes recently doesn’t mean the future will look the same.
However, it’s worth noting that the price of entry is much higher for housing due to the down payment. This is why buying a house early in your investment journey can limit your ability to diversify across different asset classes.
Investors who follow Williams’ advice and focus on saving and investing first can build a robust and diversified portfolio before they enter the housing market. With this in mind, it could be helpful to think of homeownership as the final destination in your wealth building journey rather than the first step.
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Vishesh Raisinghani is a financial journalist covering personal finance, investing and the global economy. He's also the founder of Sharpe Ascension Inc., a content marketing agency focused on investment firms. His work has appeared in Moneywise, Yahoo Finance!, Motley Fool, Seeking Alpha, Mergers & Acquisitions Magazine and Piggybank.
