A couple buying a home in the area needs to do so as part of a comprehensive financial plan, he said.
“I ask them if they really want to buy a house and if they want to be in it for the long term,’’ Lo said. Then, he said he counsels the couple to go out and canvas the area and do a reality check. “If buying a house keeps them from reaching their other goals, then we have a conversation. But if it’s within reason, we figure out how to get there because the down payment is not trivial."
David Yeske of Yeske Buie in San Francisco said he tells his clients that they should never take homeownership as mandatory. “Sometimes it makes sense to be a renter,” Yeske said, noting that he especially recommends renting to young people. “One of the things renting gives you is the flexibility. … If you want to move, you can move. Why get them all locked up in a piece of real estate,” he said.