HGTV's Lyndsay Lamb And Leslie Davis Still Think Real Estate Is A Great Investment - Exclusive
With soaring mortgage rates and untouchable prices still looming over the housing market, investing in real estate can feel like a major risk. Whether you're buying your first family home, trying to sell an old house, or hoping to lease out a second home in the future, how can you be certain that your investment circles back to you? What might happen if there's another housing market crash, or the neighborhood where you've invested becomes unpopular or unsafe?
In an exclusive interview with House Digest, Lyndsay Lamb and Leslie Davis, co-stars on HGTV's "Unsellable Houses," gave us some of their best tips for moving even the gloomiest homes. The twin sisters have certainly seen their fair share of fixer-uppers, but they still believe that even a dreary-looking home can be a good real estate investment. "Even though interest rates have gone up, real estate is still the number one place to put your money and invest," said Davis. All it takes is a little patience and a good understanding of the way the market rises and falls. Here's what Davis and Lamb had to say about investing in real estate and why it will always be a smart move.
Selling high or buying low? Understand the flow
When many people set out to invest in real estate, they may plan to buy low and sell high, but Lyndsay Lamb and Leslie Davis understand that it's not always that simple. House prices in the community and beyond tend to rise and fall together, making it difficult to find another home, even if you sell high. "It's like boats in the harbor," said Lamb. "When the tide comes in, one boat doesn't rise and the others stay the same. When the tide comes in, all the boats rise with the tide, and as the tide goes out, all the boats lower."
Like the ebbing and flowing tides, Lamb explained, selling high almost inevitably means buying high, too. Of course, that doesn't mean you can't still make a good return on your investment; it all depends on whether you're willing to make long-term commitments or risk the high-risk high-reward game. "You've got to decide which is the best scenario for you unless you're willing to rent for a while and wait out the market," said Lamb. "Historically, our market has highs and lows, but they're not so dramatic that if you're paying $3,000 a month to rent you're coming out that high ahead."
Real estate secures your investment
While investing in real estate may feel like gambling on the tides, it's arguably the safest bet you can make. When you put your money into real estate, you're investing in solid ground — quite literally — and you can rest assured that the home's worth will continue to rise, especially if you're putting money into the property. Leslie Davis explained, "As long as you are making an investment into something, real estate is still the place that will return your investment 5%, 6%, year over year. Even if that is down from 15% three years ago, it's still giving you a return on your money. You might [have] smaller buying power because your interest rate's up ... but you're still going to be making money off your money."
Davis' sister, Lyndsay Lamb, agreed:. "You've got to look at it as a long-term investment. Like Leslie said, there's nowhere else you can put that money and make a return on that investment every single year, guaranteed. You can look at every stock and bond and every safe bet out there, but you're going to be making way less on that investment. [Real estate] is still a really good bet."
"Unsellable Houses" airs Sundays at 8:00 p.m. ET on HGTV. New episodes are available to stream the same day on Max and HGTV GO.