The Costs Nobody Lists

Beyond the obvious expenses, owning a home carries costs that never appear on a listing sheet:

• Opportunity cost: A down payment sitting in a house can't earn returns in the market. An $80,000 down payment in an index fund averaging 8% would grow to roughly $370,000 over 20 years.
• Transaction costs: Buying and selling runs 8-10% between agent commissions, closing costs, title insurance, and moving. On a $400,000 home, that's $32,000-$40,000 gone on each move.
• Mobility cost: Owners stay in worse job markets because selling is slow and expensive.