Owning a home is considered one of the best and most financially savvy a person can make—if you can afford it. After all, it’s the largest asset class in the largest financial market in the world, and the 30-year mortgage is a unique American invention that (theoretically) invites everyone into the American Dream of homeownership .

Buying a house allows people to build equity and wealth over time by making mortgage payments that reduce the loan principal and increase the owner’s stake in the home until, ideally, it’s owned outright. Typically, real estate appreciates, which adds to the homeowner’s wealth. In fact, owning a home during the past several years has been particularly lucrative as home prices spectactularly increased during the pandemic .

But since the Federal Reserv

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