These days it seems the markets all about doom and gloom, foreclosures, plummeting prices, economic meltdown. All of it combined makes even those that can afford to buy a house think twice. Is it really the right thing to do? 

Purchasing a home is still a smart idea. There’s always that dread that the market hasn’t yet bottomed out and that you’ll find yourself with a home that has negative equity.

That’s really the wrong worry. First of all you need to live somewhere and so you can either pay a landlord or your mortgage lender. According to the Chicago Tribune, if you buy you generate what they refer to as a cash flow or house dividend. This is the amount of money you save by not renting add the tax benefit and subtract the cost of your mortgage payment.

Add that rents go up each year and you have the restrictions placed by landlords – no pets, no kids, no smokers, no this, no that. For the same amount of money, in fact many times for less, you can own your own home. It doesn’t matter if you find yourself facing a negative equity loan because the market will turn around at some point and you have to live somewhere anyway.

If you still aren’t sure if buying a house is right, look at history. For generations homeowners have seen their properties rise in value significantly. The investment return over the long haul is significant. It could be a nice part of your retirement income.

Experts say that those that own their own home have the perfect financial tool for prosperity.