Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below. In 2012, Warren Buffett told CNBC that if there was a way to buy thousands of single-family homes at once, and to manage them easily, he would "load up" (1) He also emphasized he'd take out mortgages at "Very, very low rates." For Buffett, those low mortgage rates were what made housing such a great opportunity. He's a value investor after all, which means he seeks investments with low prices relative to what they're actually worth.
Jeff Bezos backs a platform that lets anyone invest in rental homes for as little as $100 — 6 ways to build wealth like a landlord without actually being one JPMorgan sees gold hitting $5,000/oz by Q4 — and savvy investors are protecting their wealth with a tax-advantaged Gold IRA. Get your free guide from Priority Gold The tax breaks in Trump's 'big beautiful bill' expire after 2028. Here are 4 moves to make before the window closes And at the time, consumer confidence was low, driving housing prices down.
Buffett's advice in those market moments? "Be greedy when others are fearful." Indeed, it would have paid off for the typical American homebuyer. The median price of an American home was $251,700 in Q4 2012 (2).
As of Q2 2026, this figure is now $410,700. The all-time high was $442,600 in Q4 2024. The question is, with prices and interest rates now so much higher than they were, would Buffett's sentiment still hold for real estate as an investment now?
The average rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 3.59% in early August 2012 (3). These days, a 30-year fixed mortgage rate is around 6.67% So, Buffett would probably be a little bit less jazzed on home buying in 2026. That said, markets are cyclical.
Usually — or at least in the world of interest rates — what goes up will eventually come down. No matter what happens to interest rates, you'll want to ensure you're shopping around for the best rate possible — because the search really does pay off. According to research from Freddie Mac, borrowers who applied for mortgages from two lenders saved up to $600 annually.
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